Palladium(0) nanoparticles formed in situ in the Suzuki–Miyaura reaction: The effect of a palladium(II) precursor Original Research Article

Two palladium catalyst precursors were prepared by immobilizing PdCl2 and Pd(OAc)2 on cyclohexyldiamine-modified glycidyl methacrylate polymer (GMA-CHDA) and used in the Suzuki–Miyaura reaction (80 °C, 2 h) without any pre-treatment. Using the TEM, SEM, EDS, and XPS methods, we were able to characterize the Pd(0) nanoparticles formed in situ during the catalytic process. The catalyst obtained from Pd(OAc)2 (P2) contained Pd(0) nanoparticles with a diameter of 3–5 nm, whereas much bigger agglomerates were found for P1, which had been obtained from PdCl2. The P2 catalyst exhibited much better catalytic performance than P1, pointing to an important role of the palladium precursor in the preparation of the catalyst.