Pd-grafted functionalized mesoporous MCM-41: a novel, green and heterogeneous nanocatalyst for the selective synthesis of phenols and anilines from aryl halides in water

A new type of mesoporous-recoverable catalyst was synthesized by the immobilization of Pd on the surface of functionalized mesoporous MCM-41 and used as an efficient, recoverable and thermally stable heterogeneous nanocatalyst for the synthesis of phenols and anilines from aryl halides in water. Nanospherical MCM-41 silica with an average size of 40 nm and a pore diameter of 3 nm was prepared through the sol-gel procedure. The catalyst was characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TEM, TGA, EDS and ICP techniques. MCM-41-dtz-Pd showed excellent catalytic activity for the synthesis of phenols and anilines under mild reaction conditions. The heterogeneous catalyst showed good recyclability and can be reused many times without significant loss of its catalytic activity. Also, the EDS results show very low leaching of palladium during the catalytic process (about 1%).