Abstract
Nickel nanoparticles (NiNPs) supported on diphenylphosphinated poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) (DPP-PVA-co-PE) were synthesised by first reacting poly(vinyl alcohol-co-ethylene) with chlorodiphenylphosphine (ClPPh2) under basic conditions and then treating the product with Ni(OAc)2 followed by reduction with NaBH4. (DPP-PVA-co-PE)-NiNPs, a new metallised polymer, was then shown to efficiently catalyse Mizoroki–Heck reactions of aryl iodides, bromides or activated chlorides with olefins such as styrene and n-butyl acrylate in dimethylformamide. In contrast with other polymer-supported catalysts, the main advantage of this method is the low cost of the catalyst due to the simple synthetic route using easily obtained materials and good recoverability. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements were used to show the high metal dispersion and small sizes of Ni nanoparticle on the surface of the modified polymer. DPP-PVA-co-PE-NiNPs could be recycled several times.