Di(2-pyridyl)methylamine–palladium dichloride complex covalently anchored to a styrene-maleic anhydride co-polymer as recoverable catalyst for C–C cross-coupling reactions in water

A new polymer-supported di(2-pyridyl)methylamine–palladium dichloride complex covalently anchored to a styrene-alt-maleic anhydride co-polymer is prepared. This complex catalyzes Heck, Suzuki and Sonogashira cross-coupling reactions in neat water with similar efficiency than the monomeric complex. The turnover number (TON) of this polymer reaches up to 104 for Heck reactions, whereas for Suzuki and Sonogashira couplings TONs up to 105 are achieved. There is low leaching of palladium after filtration of the polymer and the activity remains almost constant after fourth and five reaction cycles especially in Sonogashira reactions. In the case of the Suzuki reaction Pd nanoparticles are dispersed into the polymer after the first cycle according to TEM images and 2.4% of Pd are found by ICP-OES in the corresponding filtrate. Alternatively, these palladium-catalyzed reactions can also be performed under microwave heating. These couplings take place with better efficiency with polymer-supported di(2-pyridyl)methylamine–palladium dichloride complex than with the polyurea-encapsulated Pd EnCat™ 40.