Palladium nanoparticle immobilized on coconut coir extract coated boron carbon nitride: A green and sustainable nanocatalyst for cross-coupling reactions and HER studies

The motivation behind this work is the utilization of waste biomass to build a much greener and livable environment. In line with this ideology, we have developed an eco-friendly and sustainable palladium (Pd) nanocatalyst embedded on boron carbon nitride (BCN) using coconut coir extract (BCN-CCE@Pd) as a reducing, stabilizing and effective capping agent for the first time. In addition, the chemical composition and morphology of BCN-CCE@Pd nanocatalyst was investigated through various analytical methods. The aforementioned nanocatalyst was found to be a highly active catalyst in the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling and CN arylation reactions. These reactions were best performed in ethanol: water and dimethylformamide (DMF), solvent system respectively in the presence of only 1.45 mol% of Pd under mild reaction conditions. Good to excellent yields of products were obtained with a wide range of substrates and BCN-CCE@Pd nanocatalyst was recycled upto 10 and 7 cycles, respectively. Additionally, Felbinac, a non-inflammatory drug, was prepared in quantitative yields with BCN-CCE@Pd nanocatalyst in greener reaction conditions. Conversely, the superior hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity of BCN-CCE@Pd nanocatalyst compared to BCN can be attributed to the enhanced catalytic properties imparted by the presence of Pd nanoparticles (Pd NPs), which add to the overall worthwhileness of the synthesized nanocatalyst. [Display omitted] •A new BCN-CCE@-Pd nanocatalyst was biogenically synthesized in a facile method.•The prepared nanocatalyst was characterized by various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques.•The nanocatalyst shows excellent catalytic activity in Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling and CN arylation reactions.•The nanocatalyst was recycled several times in both the cross-coupling reactions without considerable loss in the activity.•The nanocatalyst was also utilized for the electrochemical studies involving hydrogen evolution reaction.