In this paper, SBA-15 MSN was synthesized by hydrothermal method and modified by (3-aminopropyl)methoxysilane. Dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine (Py2PZ) was synthesized in one step reaction between 3,4-diaminobenzoic acid and 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione, which enables to react with amine groups on the surface of MSN via an amidation reaction to give Py2PZ@MSN. Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst was prepared using Py2PZ@MSN as a support and it was fully characterized by various characterization techniques. The synthesis steps are presented in Scheme 1.
Electron microscopy images of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst are shown in Fig. 1. The hexagonal meso-structure of MSN-backbone could be observed in TEM image that Pd NPs appear as the dark zones (Fig. 1a). The rod like structure of MSN could clearly be observed in SEM image (Fig. 1b). In addition, EDS analysis of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst confirms the presence of Pd in the structure of the catalyst (Fig. 1c). A seen in Fig. 1d, XRD pattern of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst confirms that the crystallinity of the catalyst is similar to SBA-15 38. In addition, the high angle XRD confirms the presence of Pd NPs by two peaks of 110 and 200 planes at 2θ of 39.2 and 44.3 degrees, receptively (Fig. 1d).
To confirm the successful synthesis of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN, the FT-IR spectra of nanomaterials was compared (Fig. 2a). In the FT-IR spectra of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN, a peak at 1084 cm− 1 represents Si-O vibrations in the structure of the catalyst. Hydroxyl groups of the catalyst could be observed at 3450 cm− 1 and the CH2 stretching vibration are presented at 2927 cm− 1. The peak appeared at 1739 cm− 1 is attributed to the C = O bond found in the ester moiety in the structure of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst.
The organic content in the structure of the catalyst was studied by TGA analysis (Fig. 2b). TGA curve shows that the catalyst was thermally stable up to 250°C. A weight loss at temperature of 250–350°C could be observed, which could be correlated to the degradation of organic moieties in the structure of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst. The palladium content in the structure of the catalyst was measured by ICP analysis. The results showed the Pd content in Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst was 0.12 mmol.g− 1.
The surface area and the pore size of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst was characterized by BET analysis and compared with MSN nanoparticles. Based on the BET and nitrogen adsorption-desorption results, Py2PZ@MSN has a high surface area of 612.37 m2.g− 1. In addition, the pore diameter and pore volume of the synthesized nanoporous support are 5.14 nm and 0.72 cm3.g− 1, respectively. Surface area, pore width and pore volumes of MSN are 655.37 m2.g− 1, 5.75 nm, and 0.79 cm3.g− 1, respectively. The decrease in surface area, pore width and pore volume of MSN by the synthesis of the catalyst is expected, while functionalization of the nanoparticles leads to such changes. The surface area and pore size results of MSN and Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst are presented in Table 1.
Table 1
Surface area and pore size results of MSN and Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst.
|
Surface area (m2.g− 1)
|
Pore width (nm)
|
Pore volume (cm3.g− 1)
|
MSN
|
655.65
|
5.75
|
0.79
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN
|
612.37
|
5.14
|
0.72
|
After the characterization of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst, the efficiency of the catalyst was examined in carbon-carbon bond formation reactions. To this purpose, Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst was used in Heck and Suzuki reactions. Initially, the optimal reaction conditions were evaluated by performing the reaction under different reaction conditions including various solvents, bases, catalysts and the times of the reactions. To this end, the reaction of styrene and phenyl bromide was selected as a model reaction. The optimization results are presented in Table 2. According to the results, the best solvent for the reaction is water. However, the yields of the product were less in other solvents. Therefore, water was selected as the best solvent for the reaction. In addition, the results showed that the best yield of the product is obtained when the reaction is performed in the presence of 1 mol% of the catalyst. It should be noted that the presence of a base is critical for the reaction performance. Therefore, the reaction was performed in the presence of several bases such as triethyl amine (TEA), NaOH, KOH, and Pyridine. The results showed that TEA was the best base for the reaction. To study the role of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst in the reaction, a blank run was performed by all the reaction components except the catalyst. No product was obtained in the absence of the catalyst. Therefore, the optimized reaction conditions were selected to be water as solvent, 1.5 equivalent of triethyl amine base in the presence of 1.0 mol% of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst.
To rule out the presence of leached and homogenous Pd in the reaction mixture, in a run, the reaction was performed under the optimal reaction condition. After 60 min, the conversion of the substrates to the product measured by GC was 67%. Then, the catalyst was separated from the reaction mixture and the filtrate was stirred under the same conditions for more 60 min. The analysis of the product by GC showed that no more product has been obtained. These observations confirmed the Pd catalyst worked in the heterogeneous phase and the presence of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst was necessary for the reaction performance.
Table 2
Optimization of the reaction of styrene and phenyl bromide in the presence of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst.
Entry
|
Solvent
|
Base (mol)
|
Catalyst (mol %)
|
Time(min)
|
Yield (%)
|
1
|
EtOH
|
TEA (1.5)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
120
|
61
|
2
|
MeOH
|
TEA (1.5)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
120
|
67
|
3
|
CH2Cl2
|
TEA (1.5)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
120
|
47
|
4
|
DMF
|
TEA (1.5)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
120
|
59
|
5
|
H2O
|
TEA (1.5)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
120
|
94
|
6
|
H2O
|
NaOH (1.5)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
120
|
80
|
7
|
H2O
|
KOH (1.5)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
120
|
87
|
8
|
H2O
|
Pyridine (1.5)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
120
|
69
|
9
|
H2O
|
K2CO3
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
120
|
77
|
10
|
H2O
|
No base
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
120
|
Trace
|
11
|
H2O
|
TEA (0.5)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
120
|
55
|
12
|
H2O
|
TEA (1.0)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
120
|
70
|
13
|
H2O
|
TEA (2.0)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
120
|
94
|
14
|
H2O
|
TEA (1.5)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (0.5)
|
120
|
46
|
15
|
H2O
|
TEA (1.5)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.5)
|
120
|
94
|
16
|
H2O
|
TEA (1.5)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
60
|
67
|
17
|
H2O
|
TEA (1.5)
|
Pd@Py2PZ@MSN (1.0)
|
150
|
94
|
18
|
H2O
|
TEA (1.5)
|
Pd/C (1.0)
|
120
|
56
|
19
|
H2O
|
TEA (1.5)
|
Pd(OAc)2 (1.0)
|
″
|
69
|
21
|
H2O
|
TEA (1.5)
|
PdCl2 (1.0)
|
″
|
61
|
22
|
H2O
|
TEA (1.5)
|
No catalyst
|
″
|
0
|
Reaction conditions: styrene (1 mmol); phenyl bromide (1 mmol); catalyst; solvent (5 mL); base; 25 °C. |
Based on the optimized conditions, the scope and the generality of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst was studied in Heck and Suzuki reactions. The structures and the yields of the products are presented in Table 3. The high efficiency of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst in the mentioned reaction could clearly be observed. The catalyst is highly active in both Heck and Suzuki reactions and advantageous results were obtained. All substrates with electron donating and electron withdrawing functionalities have gave the desired products in high isolated yields. For example, entries 4–9, 18–22, and 26–28 with phenyl halides bearing electron donating functionalities have given the products in 84–93% yields. In addition, phenyl halides bearing electron withdrawing functionalities (entries 10–14, 22–23, 29–31) have successfully participated in the reaction and have given the products in 88–99% yields. In addition, a reaction was performed with 10 mmol of the substrates to evaluate the possible scale up of the reaction. The results were advantageous and high yields of the products were obtained in the scale up reactions. The large scale reaction of iodobenzene with styrene and phenylboronic acid have led to 85% and 83% yields, respectively.
Table 3. The scope and generality of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst in Heck and Suzuki reactions*

Entry
|
R
|
Z
|
X
|
Time (min)
|
Yield (%)
|
TON**
|
TOF***
|
1
|
H
|
Styrene
|
Br
|
120
|
94
|
9400
|
4700
|
2
|
H
|
Styrene
|
Cl
|
150
|
79
|
7900
|
3160
|
3
|
H
|
Styrene
|
I
|
120
|
96
|
9600
|
4800
|
4
|
4-Me
|
Styrene
|
Br
|
120
|
90
|
9000
|
4500
|
5
|
4-Me
|
Styrene
|
Cl
|
150
|
75
|
7500
|
3000
|
6
|
4-Me
|
Styrene
|
I
|
120
|
94
|
9400
|
4700
|
7
|
4-OMe
|
Styrene
|
Br
|
120
|
91
|
9100
|
4550
|
8
|
4-OMe
|
Styrene
|
I
|
120
|
93
|
9300
|
4650
|
9
|
4-NMe2
|
Styrene
|
Br
|
120
|
93
|
9300
|
4650
|
10
|
4-Cl
|
Styrene
|
Br
|
120
|
96
|
9600
|
4800
|
11
|
4-Cl
|
Styrene
|
Cl
|
150
|
70
|
8000
|
3200
|
12
|
4-CN
|
Styrene
|
Br
|
120
|
94
|
9400
|
4700
|
13
|
4-CN
|
Styrene
|
Cl
|
150
|
78
|
8800
|
3520
|
14
|
4-CHO
|
Styrene
|
Br
|
120
|
93
|
9300
|
4650
|
15
|
H
|
butyl acrylate
|
Br
|
120
|
96
|
9600
|
4800
|
16
|
H
|
butyl acrylate
|
Cl
|
150
|
82
|
8200
|
3280
|
17
|
H
|
butyl acrylate
|
I
|
90
|
96
|
9600
|
6400
|
18
|
4-Me
|
butyl acrylate
|
Br
|
120
|
89
|
8900
|
4450
|
19
|
4-Me
|
butyl acrylate
|
Cl
|
150
|
75
|
7500
|
3000
|
20
|
4-OMe
|
butyl acrylate
|
Br
|
120
|
91
|
9100
|
4550
|
21
|
4-OMe
|
butyl acrylate
|
Cl
|
150
|
76
|
7600
|
3040
|
22
|
4-CN
|
butyl acrylate
|
Br
|
120
|
94
|
9400
|
4700
|
23
|
4-CN
|
butyl acrylate
|
Cl
|
150
|
89
|
8900
|
3560
|
24
|
H
|
Ph(BOH)2
|
Br
|
120
|
92
|
9200
|
4600
|
25
|
H
|
Ph(BOH)2
|
I
|
150
|
97
|
9700
|
3880
|
26
|
4-Me
|
Ph(BOH)2
|
Br
|
120
|
88
|
8800
|
4400
|
27
|
4-Me
|
Ph(BOH)2
|
I
|
150
|
92
|
9200
|
3680
|
28
|
4-OMe
|
Ph(BOH)2
|
Br
|
120
|
84
|
8400
|
4200
|
29
|
4-Cl
|
Ph(BOH)2
|
Br
|
120
|
93
|
9300
|
4650
|
30
|
4-CN
|
Ph(BOH)2
|
Br
|
120
|
95
|
9500
|
4750
|
31
|
4-CN
|
Ph(BOH)2
|
I
|
150
|
99
|
9900
|
3960
|
32****
|
H
|
Styrene
|
I
|
120
|
85
|
8500
|
4250
|
33****
|
H
|
Ph(BOH)2
|
I
|
120
|
83
|
8300
|
4150
|
* Reaction conditions: styrene, butyl acrylate, or phenylboronic acid (1 mmol); phenyl halide (1 mmol); Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst (1 mol%); H2O (5 mL); TEA (1.5 mmol); 25°C; ** TON is calculated as the number of moles of substrate converted to product divided by the number moles of palladium catalyst; *** TOF is defined as TON h− 1.; **** Scale up reactions: styrene or phenylboronic acid (10 mmol); phenyl bromide (10 mmol); Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst (1 mol%); H2O (50 mL); TEA (15 mmol); 25°C. |
A great advantage of Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst is its reusability. To illustrate the reusability of the catalyst, after the reaction of styrene (or phenylboronic acid) and phenyl bromide was completed, the catalyst was separated by filtration. The separated catalyst was washed, dried, and used in next reaction run under the same reaction conditions. The reaction was repeated for 10 sequential reactions that the obtained results are presented in Fig. 3. It could be seen that in both Heck and Suzuki reactions, no big loss in the activity of the catalyst is observed.
To show the structural stability of the catalyst during the reaction conditions, the catalyst was separated after the 5th reaction run, washed with water and ethanol. Then, the dried 5th re-used Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst was characterized by SEM and BET analysis. The results are presented in Fig. 4 and Table 4, respectively. Comparing the results of the recovered catalyst with the fresh ones confirm the good stability of the catalyst during the reactions.
Table 4
Surface area and pore size results of the recovered Pd@Py2PZ@MSN catalyst.
Surface area (m2.g− 1)
|
Pore width (nm)
|
Pore volume (cm3.g− 1)
|
607.21
|
5.09
|
0.70
|