Palladium nanoparticles supported on a poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone)-modified mesoporous carbon nanocage as a novel heterogeneous catalyst for the Heck reaction in water

Palladium nanoparticles supported on poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone)/CKT-3 (a mesoporous carbon nanocage) were employed effectively as novel heterogeneous catalyst for the Heck coupling reaction. The results showed that aryl halides (–Cl, –Br, –I) underwent coupling with a variety of alkenes at 60 °C in water under aerobic conditions. The very stable nanocomposite catalyst was easily recovered, showed negligible Pd leaching, and retained good activity for at least ten successive runs without any additional activation.