"We sought to synthesize catalysts with no harm to the
environment which have high capability for organic reactions as
well," Seyed Habib Firouzabadi, professor at chemistry
department, University of Shiraz, said. Elaborating on the
synthesis procedure, he said, "We mixed an aqueous solution of
gelatin and a very dilute solution of palladium chloride salt in
water. We, then, refluxed this solution. Under these conditions,
the free carboxylic groups available in gelatin act as palladium
reductants in the presence of heat and produce palladium
metallic nanocatalyst." "These nanoparticles are stabilized by
amide groups trapped in gelatin. Finally, the nanoparticles are
ready for consumption after drying." Stressing the easy
production of nanoparticles at gram scale in this method
compared with the previous studies in which palladium
nanocatalysts were produced at milligram scale, he added,
"Considering that these particles are soluble in water, they are
friendly to the environment. Moreover, no external reductan