LAUSR

Abstract A new magnetically recoverable silica-based nickel(II) nanocatalyst was synthesized by a simple cost-effective procedure, which was characterized by TEM, SEM, XRD, VSM analysis, and FT-IR spectrophotometry. The catalytic activity of the prepared Ni(II) nanocatalyst was tested in two complementary reactions: C–N Chan–Lam cross-coupling of phenylboronic acid with aryl amines and C–C Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of phenylboronic acid with aryl halides. The catalyst was easily recovered by magnetic separation and reused for five times. It demonstrated better catalytic activity in the C–N Chan–Lam reaction compared to C–C Suzuki–Miyaura reaction. Ease of recovery and reusability up to five cycles without noticeable loss of performance in the C–N cross-coupling reaction make the present protocol beneficial both industrially and environmentally.Graphical abstractIn this paper, a new magnetically recoverable silica-based nickel(II) nanocatalyst was synthesized and applied in two complementary reactions: C–C Suzuki–Miyaura reaction and C–N Chan–Lam reaction. The difference in catalytic activity makes it possible to use this catalyst for cases that are prone to both reactions and selectively create the desired product.