Facile green synthesis of Pd/N-doped carbon nanotubes catalysts and their application in Heck reaction and oxidation of benzyl alcohol

Abstract

Evenly dispersed Pd nanoparticles are facilely and successfully deposited on N-doped carbon nanotubes (Pd/N-CNTs) by employing sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a salt and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as both a surface modifier and a stabilizing agent. The presence of SDS and the amount of PVP have significant influences on the formation of evenly dispersed Pd/N-CNTs catalyst. No additional functionalization steps, reducing agents and stabilizers are required as usual to achieve the uniform deposition of Pd NPs over the N-CNTs surfaces. The as-synthesized Pd/N-CNTs catalyst is proved to be very active in the Heck reaction and can be reused at least for 5 times without significant loss of catalytic activity in the aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol.