A self-assembled Pd6L8 nanoball for Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions in both homogeneous and heterogeneous formats

A self-assembled nano-sized Pd6L8 (L = 1,3,5-tris(4′-pyridyloxadiazole)-2,4,6-triethylbenzene) ball was constructed based on a new oxadiazole-containing tripod. In H2O–EtOH mixed-solvent system, Pd(II)-ball displays excellent performance in Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reactions at low catalyst loading under ambient conditions in a homogeneous fashion. Furthermore, it shows heterogeneous catalyst nature in o-xylene and can be reused without loss of catalytic activity.