By grafting fluorescent probes onto mesoporous silica micro-spheres, we prepared a highly selective heterogeneous fluorescent sensor FSM for the detection and removal of palladium ions in water.

Herein, we report a heterogenous catalyst (Pd@FSM) by immobilization of a novel Pd 2+ sensor as promoter over mesoporous silica. Pd@FSM with a high palladium loading of ca. 11 mg g À1 exhibited superior catalytic activity for Suzuki-Miyaura cross-couplings and a catalyst loading of 0.05 mol% is typically sufficient to achieve excellent reaction yields. Notably, the reaction is typically carried out in water without removing atmospheric oxygen. The catalyst is conveniently recycled and remains highly active even after being recycled 5 times. During this process, loss of palladium from the solid support of the catalyst is negligible. Furthermore, the catalyst can be stored in air for at least three months without loss of its catalytic activity. This work provides a new approach to developing heterogeneous palladium catalysts by combing materials and fluorescent sensors.