Palladium nanoparticles supported on magnetic copper ferrite nanoparticles: The synergistic effect of palladium and copper for cyanation of aryl halides with K4[Fe(CN)6]

•Pd@CuFe2O4 NPs were synthesized and characterized for the first time.•The low loading Pd catalyst shows good activity in the cyanation of aryl iodides and bromides.•Synergitic effect between Pd and Cu species is responsible for the observed reactivity.•The magnetically recoverable catalyst was recycled for four times with small drops in activity.

In this paper, for the first time, palladium nanoparticles were supported on (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane-modified copper ferrite nanoparticles. The obtained catalyst was characterized using FT-IR, TEM, EDX, AAS, XRD, and TGA analyses. The prepared heterogeneous catalyst showed superior activity toward cyanation of aryl iodides and bromides with K4[Fe(CN)6] compared to the Fe3O4 supported palladium nanoparticles, unfunctionalized CuFe2O4 nanoparticles, homogeneous Pd(OAc)2, CuCl2, and CuI catalysts. The heterogeneous and low Pd loading catalyst was recycled for four consecutive runs with small drops in catalytic activity.

Graphical abstractPd supported on CuFe2O4 NPs were synthesized, characterized and successfully applied as magnetically recyclable catalyst for the cyanation of aryl iodides and bromides.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (110 K)Download as PowerPoint slide