One-step synthesis of PdCu@Ti3C2 with high catalytic activity in the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction

Owing to their enhanced catalytic stability and cyclability, two-dimensional (2D) material-supported Pd-based bimetallic alloys have promising applications for catalytic reactions. Furthermore, the alloying strategy can effectively reduce costs and improve catalytic performance. In this paper, we report a one-step reduction method to synthesize a novel heterogeneous catalyst, PdCu@Ti3C2, with good catalytic performance. The composition and structure of the as-prepared catalyst were characterized by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The catalyst particles, which were identified as a PdCu bimetallic alloy, exhibited good dispersion on the substrate. The performance of the catalyst in the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction was studied, and the results showed that PdCu@Ti3C2 had excellent catalytic activity, similar to that of homogeneous Pd catalysts such as Pd(PPh3)4. Moreover, the prepared catalyst could be reused at least 10 times in the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction with high yield.