Imidazolyl-Functionalized Ordered Mesoporous Polymer from Nanocasting as an Effective Support for Highly Dispersed Palladium Nanoparticles in the Heck Reaction

New imidazolyl-functionalized ordered mesoporous cross-linked polymers were prepared by the copolymerization of the ionic liquid 3-benzyl-1-vinyl-1H-imidazolium bromide with divinylbenzene as the cross-linker and azobisisobutyronitrile as the radical initiator in the presence of O-silylated SBA-15 as the hard template. The materials were characterized by N-2 adsorption-desorption analysis, TEM, thermogravimetric analysis, elemental analysis, and FTIR spectroscopy. The material, which benefits from the use of entrapped ionic liquid in the prepared polymer matrix in combination with its ordered mesoporous structure, is an excellent environment for the stabilization of highly dispersed Pd nanoparticles to result in a recyclable catalyst system with a significant activity in the Heck coupling reaction of aryl halides. The presence of well-distributed imidazolium functionalities in the polymeric framework might be responsible for the relatively uniform and nearly atomic scale distribution of Pd nanoparticles throughout the mesoporous structure and the prevention of Pd agglomeration during the reaction, which results in high durability, high stability, and good recycling characteristics of the catalyst. Although our catalyst system operates in a homogeneous pathway, it is also very stable and recyclable.