Palladium-Loaded Cucurbit[7]uril-Modified Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for C-C Cross-Coupling Reactions

Cucurbit[7]uril modified iron oxide nanoparticles (CB[7]NPs) were loaded with palladium to form nano-catalysts (Pd@CB[7]NPs) that, with microwave heating, catalysed Suzuki-Miyaura, Sonogashira, and Mizoroki-Heck cross-coupling reactions. Reactions were run in environmentally benign 1:1 ethanol/water solvent under convenient aerobic conditions. In a preliminary screening, conversions and yields were uniformly high with turn over frequencies (TOF) ranging from 64 to 7360 h(-1). The nano-catalysts could be recovered with a magnet and reused several times (6 times for Suzuki-Miayura reaction) without loss of activity.