Polymeric β-alanine incarcerated Pd(II) catalyzed allylic etherification in water: a mild and efficient method for the formation of C(sp3)-O bonds

A new heterogeneous palladium(II) catalyst has been developed through a convenient and economic way. The catalyst was synthesized by confining palladium metal with a polystyrenal beta-alanine-imine network and characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, and elemental analysis. Polymeric imine can be prepared easily from chloromethylated polystyrene and beta-alanine. Using this polymer incarcerated palladium(II) catalyst a useful and efficient procedure for stereospecific synthesis of allyl-aryl ethers has been developed. The benzylic, aromatic, and heteroaromatic phenols react with various substituted allyl acetates by this procedure to furnish a library of allyl-aryl and allyl-hetero-aryl ethers in high yields. The catalyst could be recovered easily and reused five times without any considerable loss of its catalytic activity.