Three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide architecture embedded palladium nanoparticles as highly active catalyst for the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction

3D architecture of graphene embedded palladium nanoparticles has been prepared by a simple two-steps method. At first, Pd nanoparticles was anchored and growth over graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets in aqueous solution using different reducing agents. Then, the as-prepared Pd/GO nanosheets were reduced by Vitamin C, and the hydrogel of Pd/reduced GO (rGO) was formed via a reduction-inducing self-assembly. The obtained 3D Pd/rGO architecture was studied by means of XRD, XPS, TGA, AFM, BET, and elemental analysis, and it revealed that the obtained composites are three-dimensional, porous, light-weight with a homogeneous dispersion of Pd nanoparticles in size of 5-9 nm. The asprepared 3D Pd/rGO nanocomposite showed highly catalytic activity for Suzuki Miyaura coupling reaction. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.