Abstract: The palladium catalyst supported on fluoride pillared layered double hydroxide (LDH-F) was prepared by the incipient wetness method, and it was used to catalyze the Heck and Suzuki coupling reactions of aryl bromides. The structure of the Pd/LDH-F catalyst and the leaching of Pd in the solution were characterized by X-ray diffraction and inductively coupled plasma. With a small palladium dosage (Pd/aryl bromide molar ratio of 0.001) and no ligand, Pd/LDH-F exhibits higher catalytic activity and selectivity than the catalysts supported on other carriers for the Heck reaction of aryl bromides with styrene. The Pd/LDH-F catalyst can be easily separated from the reaction mixture and reused four times without loss in activity. Under the conditions of Pd/aryl bromide molar ratio of 0.005, room temperature and 3 h, the Pd/LDH-F catalyst can catalyze the Suzuki reaction of bromobenzene with a product yield of 99%.

Key words: palladium, fluoride, layered double hydroxide, supported catalyst, aryl bromide, Heck reaction, Suzuki reaction