β-cyclodextrin-capped palladium nanoparticle-catalyzed ligand-free Suzuki and Heck couplings in low-melting β-cyclodextrin/NMU mixtures

Low-melting beta-cyclodextrin/N-methylurea (NMU) mixture, an efficient catalytic system for ligand-free Suzuki and Heck couplings in the presence of fresh native beta-CD-capped Pd-0 nanoparticles, has been successfully reported. This natural and convenient system can be performed in air and could afford the corresponding cross-coupled products in good to excellent isolated yields after a simple workup under every low Pd loading (0.05 mol%). Remarkably, the catalytic system can be recycled and reused without loss of catalytic activity. Copyright (C) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.