Palladium Nanoparticles Supported on Zirconium Metal Organic Framework as an Efficient Heterogeneous Catalyst for the Suzuki-Miyaura Coupling Reaction

Nanoparticles of zirconium metal organic framework UiO-66 (about 100 nm) have been used as proper supports for Pd nanoparticles. Highly dispersed Pd nanoparticles (about 3-15 nm) were deposed on activated UiO-66 metal organic framework using simple wet impregnation method at room temperature. UiO-66 and the supported Pd nanoparticles (Pd/UiO-66) were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N-2 sorption, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. Investigation of the catalytic performance of Pd/UiO-66 showed that the synthetic nanocomposites can effectively catalyze the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of benzeneboronic acid with different aryl halides under mild reaction conditions using environmentally benign solvents. In addition, the stability and reusability of the catalyst were studied during the catalytic reaction and it is worth noting that the structure of Pd/UiO-66 catalyst remains intact during the catalytic reaction and the catalyst can be recycled four times without significant decrease in its catalytic activity. [GRAPHICS]