New route to synthesis of PVP-stabilized palladium(0) nanoclusters and their enhanced catalytic activity in Heck and Suzuki cross-coupling reactions

Herein we report a new method for the synthesis and characterization of PVP-stabilized palladium(0) nanoclusters and their enhanced catalytic activity in Suzuki coupling and Heck reactions of aryl bromides with phenylboronic acid and styrene, respectively, under mild conditions. The PVP-stabilized palladium(0) nanoclusters with a particle size of 4.5 +/- 1.1 nm were prepared using a new method: refluxing a mixture of potassium tetrachloropalladate(II) and PVP in methanol at 80 degrees C for 1 h followed by reduction with sodium borohydride. Palladium(0) nanoclusters prepared in this way were stable in solution for weeks, could be isolated as solid materials and were characterized by TEM, XPS, UV-vis, and XRD techniques. The PVP-stabilized palladium(0) nanoclusters were active catalysts in Heck and Suzuki coupling reactions of arylbromides with styrene and phenylboronic acid affording stilbenes and biphenyls, respectively, in high yield. Recycling experiments showed that PVP-stabilized palladium(0) nanoclusters could be used five times with essentially no loss in activity in the Heck and Suzuki coupling reactions. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.