Alcohols, in particular polyols, are well-known for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles often acting as reducing agents, solvents, and stabilizers. Given not only their structural flexibility depending on the number of OH functions and their inherent H bonding interactions, but also the wide range of polyol molecular weights readily available, different physico-chemical properties (boiling point, polarity, viscosity) could be exploited towards the synthesis of well-defined nanomaterials. In particular, the relevance of the supramolecular structure of polyols has a fundamental impact on the formation of metal nanoparticles thereby favoring the dispersion of the nanoclusters. In the field of the metal-based nanocatalysis, palladium occupies a privileged position mainly due to its remarkable versatility in terms of reactivity representing a foremost tool in synthesis. In this review, we describe the controlled synthesis of Pd-based nanoparticles in polyol medium focusing on the progress in terms of tailoring size, morphology, structure, and surface state. Moreover, we discuss the use of 4.2. C(sp)-C(sp 2) Sonogashira cross-coupling 4.3. C(sp 2)-C(sp 2) Hiyama-Denmark cross-coupling 4.4. C(sp 2)-C(sp 2) Heck-Mizoroki cross-coupling 4.5. C(sp 2)-C(sp 2 /sp 3) Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling 4.5.1. In PEG and glycerol media 4.5.2. Solid-supported nanocatalysts 4.6. C(sp 2)-C(sp 2)-C(sp 2) Carbonylative Suzuki cross-coupling 4.7. C(sp 2)-C(sp 2) Ullmann-type homo-coupling 4.8. Miscellaneous: SiN and C-N amination reactions 5. Conclusions and outlook

The past decade has seen the development of a new reactivity concept, exploiting the ubiquity of C−H bonds. The direct activation of this bond type brings forth a straightforward way for the derivatization of organic molecules. Consequently, the design of metal catalyzed C−H bond functionalization reactions has become a flourishing area in organic synthesis. Thus, this review focuses on molecular transformation of "unactivated" C(sp 3 )−H and C(sp 2 )−H bonds present in feedstock and readily available hydrocarbons into valuable chemicals by nanoparticle-leveraged C−H activation, resulting in more sustainable approaches for industrial applications. The distinctive reactivity properties of these nanoentities lead to remarkable reactivity specificities depending on the type of surface sites and the structure dynamics, directly impacting the process selectivity.