Functionalized chitosan as a novel support for stabilizing palladium in Suzuki reactions

[Display omitted] •Schiff base functionalized chitosan decorated with palladium was well synthesized.•Excellent capability was obtained towards Suzuki reactions in eco-friendly media.•The chitosan supported catalyst exhibited favorable stability and recyclability.•A plausibly trifunctional complex structure was also proposed.•The study offers a new avenue for polysaccharide utilization in organic catalysis. Chitosan is a versatile polysaccharide in different domains due to facile modification and good biodegradability. In this paper, taking advantage of such functional properties, we have developed a stabilizer agent [OCMCS-SB] produced from chitosan, and palladium was successfully immobilized on this designed stabilizer [OCMCS-SB-Pd(II)]. The obtained complex was illuminated by 13C CP-MAS NMR, FT-IR, TGA, XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM and ICP-OES analyses. Due to the interactions of primary hydroxyl groups on chitosan, Schiff base and carboxy groups, the Pd complex showed excellent reactivity (up to 99 %) and stability towards Suzuki reactions in eco-friendly medium. Subsequently, the reusability experiments for OCMCS-SB-Pd(II) formed from chitosan were examined in five consecutive cycles, which showed no appreciable decrease in activity. Furthermore, a reasonably trifunctional complex structure was proposed. The present bio-based system offers a promising approach in utilizing such biopolymers in organic transformations.