Extended architectures constructed of thiourea-modified SBA-15 nanoreactor: A versatile new support for the fabrication of palladium pre-catalyst

We designed and synthesized a novel catalyst consisting of ordered mesoporous silica (SBA-15) functionalized with bis(thiourea) (BTU) linker. The regular and unique pore channels of BTU-SBA-15 ensure proper control of the size and homogeneous distribution of palladium nanoparticles. The physiochemical properties of the hybrid Pd@BTU-SBA-15 pre-catalyst were investigated using various techniques. The proposed catalyst is found to be very active, reusable, stable and scalable, and has excellent reactivity and selectivity for Suzuki and Heck coupling reactions under very mild and sustainable reaction conditions.