A highly controllable, effective, and recyclable magnetic-nanoparticle-supported palladium catalyst for the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction

In this work, a highly efficient palladium catalyst was facilely immobilized on the surfaces of magnetic nanoparticles with the coordination of N -heterocyclic carbene. The prepared Pd–NHC@NCPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. With suitably designed emulsion polymerization and immobilization, the final palladium loading could reach 0.78 mmol/g. The catalyst showed outstanding catalytic performance in the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction among various substrates, with little catalyst usage (0.03 mol.%), short reaction time, and mild reaction conditions. In addition, the catalyst could be separated conveniently from the reacting system with an external magnet and show good catalytic performance even after being reused five times or more, indicating good recyclability.