Palladium(II) complexes assembled on solid materials: as catalysts for the –NO2 (nitro) to –NH2 (amine) reactions

Herein, a new series of [PdCl 2 (L) 2 ] complexes where ligands are monodentate amine ligands bearing sulfonamide groups were synthesized, characterized using various techniques such as NMR, FT-IR, UV–Vis, and sc-XRD and investigated for their catalytic performance for the reduction of nitroarenes (2-nitroaniline, 4-nitroaniline, and nitrobenzene) in the presence of NaBH 4 in water under heterogeneous conditions. Because the results show that the synthesized complexes are very efficient catalysts, materials using the selected palladium(II) complex supported by multiwall carbon nanotubes, silicon dioxide, and iron(II,III) oxide (Fe 3 O 4 ) were fabricated by a simple-impregnation methodology, characterized by FT-IR, BET, TEM, and XRD techniques and investigated for their catalytic performance for the same reaction. Thus, a series of supported catalysts was designed with the aim of both enhancing catalytic activity and reducing noble-metal contents. Our findings serve to develop simple catalytic systems and this system can be easily used for catalytic reduction reactions which are the cornerstone of the production of important chemicals. Graphic abstract