Magnetic nanoparticles embedded hexagonal boron nitride tethered N-heterocyclic carbene-palladium(II): An efficient and reusable magnetic catalyst for fluoride-free Hiyama cross-coupling and 4-nitrophenol reduction reactions

Heterogeneous catalysts have a wide range of applications on a commercial scale and are thus favored over their homogeneous analogs due to their stability and recyclability. However, their key drawback is poor reactivity. Consequently, the need to design heterogeneous catalysts with enhanced activity is a pressing matter. In this work, a new heterogeneous catalyst, magnetic nanoparticles embedded hexagonal boron nitride tethered N- heterocyclic carbene-palladium(II) (MNP-h-BN@NHC-Pd), was synthesized using a cost-effective and facile approach under aerobic conditions. The magnetic catalyst was characterized to confirm its structure, morphology, chemical composition, and thermal stability using various analytical techniques. The synthesized magnetic MNP-h-BN@NHC-Pd catalyst was studied in terms of its catalytic ability in the fluoride-free Hiyama cross-coupling reaction and recycled up to six cycles without any significant loss of activity. In addition, the catalytic application of the magnetic MNP-h-BN@NHC-Pd catalyst was further explored for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), a contaminant found in industrial wastewater, with a recyclability of up to nine cycles. The recovery of the magnetic MNP-h-BN@NHC-Pd catalyst from the reaction medium was achieved by use of an external magnetic field and the recycled magnetic catalyst did not show any drastic change in its chemical structure or morphology.

Automated summary

In this study, a new heterogeneous catalyst, magnetic nanoparticles embedded hexagonal boron nitride tethered N-heterocyclic carbene-palladium(II) (MNP-h-BN@NHC-Pd), was synthesized using a cost-effective and facile approach under aerobic conditions. The magnetic catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic performance in the fluoride-free Hiyama cross-coupling reaction and could be recycled multiple times without significant loss of activity. Furthermore, the catalytic application of the magnetic catalyst for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol in industrial wastewater was also investigated, showing recyclability and maintaining its chemical structure and morphology.