Amine Functionalized Silica Coated Cotton Fabric Supported Pd(0) Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization and Catalytic Application for Suzuki Cross-Coupling and Hydrogenations

In this study, a simple and cost-effective approach has been reported, wherein cotton fabric containing hydroxyl groups was utilized as a support material for the immobilization of Pd(0) nanoparticles. Cotton fabric was first modified with SiO2 to enhance the thermal stability followed by functionalization with ethylene diamine to chelate Pd nanoparticles. Sodium borohydride was used for the reduction of palladium ions to nano-sized palladium. The developed cotton fabric based catalyst was successfully applied to Suzuki cross-coupling reaction between bromoarenes and arylboronic acids in the presence of potassium carbonate as base and selective hydrogenation of C=C double bond in alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds as well as reduction of nitroarenes using molecular hydrogen as a green reductant. The structural investigation of the catalyst was done using FTIR, TGA, XRD, FEG-SEM, ICP-AES and XPS. The catalyst could be removed easily using lab tweezers and reused up to five reaction cycles.