Heck reaction of aryl iodides and methyl acrylate was carried out in an X-Cube (TM) reactor in the presence of supported catalysts. Palladium was immobilised by different methods on silica with covalently grafted ionic liquid moieties. Activity and selectivity of the SILP-Pd (supported ionic liquid phase) catalysts were found to depend greatly on the conditions (such as solvent and additives) of immobilisation. By the proper choice of the methodology used during heterogenisation, a selective catalyst, showing stable performance for hours on stream, was obtained. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.