Palladium nanoparticles on graphite oxide and its functionalized graphene derivatives as highly active catalysts for the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction.

Pd(2+)-exchanged graphite oxide and chemically derived graphenes therefrom were employed as supports for Pd nanoparticles. The influence of catalyst preparation, carbon functionalization, and catalyst morphology on the catalytic activity in the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions was investigated. The catalysts were characterized by means of spectroscopy (FT-IR, solid-state (13)C NMR, AAS, XPS), X-ray scattering (WAXS), surface area analysis (BET, methylene blue adsorption), and electron microscopy (TEM, ESEM). In contrast to the conventional Pd/C catalyst, graphite oxide and graphene-based catalysts gave much higher activities with turnover frequencies exceeding 39,000 h(-1), accompanied by very low palladium leaching (<1 ppm).