A water-compatible, highly active and reusable PEG-coated mesoporous silica-supported palladium complex and its application in Suzuki coupling reactions.

A highly active heterogeneous palladium catalyst was prepared from coated mesoporous materials which contain a layer of readily available PEG with a labile coordinating ability for palladium. The aqueous suspension of the catalyst may be reused several times by simple extraction of the aqueous reaction mixture with ether to remove the product.