In situ loading of palladium nanoparticles on mica and their catalytic applications.

Mica supported Pd nanocatalysts were prepared by a two-step approach, in which SnCl(2) was first grafted onto mica via its reaction with hydroxyl groups on mica, followed by the in situ reduction of Pd(2+) by Sn(2+) on the surface of mica. The as-prepared Pd-Sn/mica catalysts were characterized by different techniques including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ICP analysis. The loaded Pd particles existed in the form of Pd(0) confirmed by XPS analysis, and distributed uniformly on mica with average size about 2.6 nm, as confirmed by TEM examination. The activities of the resultant catalysts for Heck reactions of iodobenzene and its derivatives with olefins and selective hydrogenation of citral were investigated. It was demonstrated that the as-prepared catalysts exhibited very high efficiency for these reactions.