Abstract

Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) were firstly prepared by 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) oxidation and further oxidized to 2,3-dialdehyde nanocelluloses (DANCs) by periodate oxidation. Furthermore, by using DANCs as reducing as well as stabilizing agent, palladium (Pd) and gold (Au) nanoparticles (NPs) supported on nanocellulose (PdNPs@NC and AuNPs@NC) were synthesized, respectively. The reduction of Pd or Au ions to its metallic form by DANCs was confirmed by UV–vis spectra, XRD, and XPS. TEM results showed that Pd and Au NPs were homogenously deposited onto cellulose nanofibrils, respectively. The catalytic performance of PdNPs@NC was further investigated by Suzuki coupling reaction. The product yield of the Suzuki coupling reaction between aryl bromides and phenyl boronic acid was more than 90% after 1 h with 0.1 mol% PdNPs@NC catalyst, which demonstrated that the synthesized PdNPs@NC nanohybrid could be successfully applied in Suzuki coupling reaction with an efficient catalytic activity.