Pd@Cu-MOF catalyzed synthesis of diaryl ketones from (hetero)aryl aldehydes via C−H bond activation

•Pd NPs@Cu2(BDC)2DABCO as heterogenous catalyst for the synthesis of diaryl ketones via CH activation.•Mild reaction condition and easily work-up of the products.•Reusability of the catalyst without significant loss of catalytic activity after four runs. In this research, Pd@Cu-MOF is used as a reusable heterogeneous catalyst to develop a unique approach for the synthesis of diaryl ketones via CH activation reaction of aryl aldehydes and arylhalides with good yield. Pd nanoparticles encapsulated in the metal-organic framework (Pd@Cu2(BDC)2DABCO) and the structure of the catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), BET, transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The catalyst was recycled and reused four times without significant loss of activity. A plausible mechanism is provided and the chemical structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by comparison of their melting points with literature and 1HNMR spectra.