LAUSR

Abstract A novel supported catalyst formed by an oxime-derived palladacycle supported on clay OxPdCy@clay is synthesized and characterized. This palladium composite promotes the Sonogashira reaction of aryl iodides, bromides and chlorides with terminal alkynes in polyethylene glycol200 at 85 or 130 °C using 0.05–0.1 mol% of palladium loading under copper and phosphine free conditions. This supported palladacycle, OxPdCy@clay, showed a superior catalytic activity than dimeric oxime-palladacycles. Mechanistic studies about the heterogeneous or homogeneous nature of the catalyst show that catalyst is working mainly under heterogeneous conditions. This supported palladacycle OxPdCy@clay can be recycled by simple centrifugation and reused for at least nine consecutive runs with small decrease in activity.