Graphene-Pd composite as highly active catalyst for the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction.

The graphene-supported Pd catalyst was synthesized using the graphene-Pd salt as precursor. Transmission electron microscope and powder X-ray diffraction analysis indicated the Pd nanoparticles, which supported on the surface of the graphene sheets possessed a face-centered cubic structure and were with the size of 4-8 nm. The Suzuki-Miyaura reaction was employed to analyze the catalytic activity of the graphene-supported Pd catalyst. HPLC analysis indicated that the yield of biphenyl was 97% when the reaction only lasted 10 min. The experimental results showed the graphene sheets were great support for ligand-free Pd catalyst.