Pd–NPs@MMT–K10 Catalysis of Suzuki–Miyaura Cross-coupling Reaction: In Situ Generation and Ex Situ Use

Due to high surface area and low swelling property, Montmorillonite–K10 (MMT–K10) has been gaining widespread applications in heterogeneous catalysis as a material that is used for supporting varieties of catalyst species. The current report describes in situ generation of Pd–NPs@MMT–K10 catalytic system for heterogeneous catalysis of Suzuki–Miyaura (SM) cross-coupling reaction and it’s ex situ applications. While the in situ derived Pd@MMT–K10 was found very effective to deliver the coupling products within short span of time, the same when isolated and purified could serve equally as an externally added heterogeneous catalyst for the same reaction. In our observation, this report is first to include studies on ex situ application of in situ derived heterogeneous catalytic system by carrying out multiple new reactions with varied substrate combinations. PXRD, TEM and XPES studies were performed to have insight into the isolated catalytic system, while 1 H & 13 C NMR spectroscopy were used to establish the structure of the organic products. In terms of reusability, the catalytic system was very consistent in delivering SM cross-coupling product of 1-bromo-4-methoxybenzene & phenylboronic acid up to 5th run. Graphical Abstract