It′s teamwork! A composite of ionic liquid (IL)‐stabilized palladium(0) nanoparticles and a pyridinium salt of iron bis(dicarbollide) (5) was found to be efficient for oxidation of substituted benzyl alcohols and lignin to produce aromatic aldehydes.

Well-dispersed palladium (0) nanoparticles stabilized with phosphonium based ionic liquid were synthesized conveniently and fully characterized. A catalyst system comprising of the Pd(0) nanoparticles and a base was found to be recyclable and efficient for the aminocarbonylation reaction of aryl iodide in ionic liquid media. In the presence of potassium tert-butyloxide, for the relatively stable aryl chloride and bromide substrates, medium activities were achieved for the catalyst. The catalyst composites can be recycled at least five times with sustained activity.