A new magnetically recoverable silica-based nickel(II) nanocatalyst was synthesized by a simple cost-effective procedure,
which was characterized by TEM, SEM, XRD, VSM analysis, and FT-IR spectrophotometry. The catalytic activity of the
prepared Ni(II) nanocatalyst was tested in two complementary reactions: C–N Chan–Lam cross-coupling of phenylboronic
acid with aryl amines and C–C Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of phenylboronic acid with aryl halides. The catalyst
was easily recovered by magnetic separation and reused for five times. It demonstrated better catalytic activity in the C–N
Chan–Lam reaction compared to C–C Suzuki–Miyaura reaction. Ease of recovery and reusability up to five cycles without
noticeable loss of performance in the C–N cross-coupling reaction make the present protocol beneficial both industrially and
environmentally.