Mesitylene/1-hexene solvated palladium nanoparticles, obtained by metal vapour synthesis (MVS) technique,
were stabilized in solution at room temperature with poly-(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) and isolated
by precipitation with a diethyl ether or THF as brown powder. HRTEM and FT-IR analyses on
samples with different Pd/PVP ratio (1%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20 w/w%) showed palladium nanoparticles with
mean diameters limited in the range 1.5–2.5 nm and the presence of competitive intermolecular interactions
between C@O groups and palladium atoms on nanoparticle surface. The Pd–PVP systems, dissolved
in EtOH solvent, showed excellent catalytic activity and selectivity in the hydrogenation of
aliphatic alkynes (1-hexyne, 2-hexyne, 3-hexyne, 3-hexyne-1-ol) to the corresponding (Z)-alkenes. The
catalytic activity of Pd–PVP samples, dissolved in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP), has been also evaluated
in the Mizoroki–Heck C–C coupling reaction of iodobenzene and bromo-arenes with butyl acrylate
showing high efficiency. Moreover, the catalyst can be quantitatively recovered at the end of the reaction
by precipitation with diethyl ether and reused without significant loss of catalytic activity