This article presents the findings of a facile and effective nanoparticle synthesis approach based on aqueous solutions of gum acacia (GA), also known as gum arabic without the addition of any toxic reagents either for the reduction or capping for the effective stabilization of palladium (Pd) nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution (with a H(2)PdCl(4)/GA ratio of 1:29.411, the solution the average diameter was 9.1 nm, and the standard deviation was +/- 0.3 nm). In this approach, the particle size was controlled by the manipulation of the temperature, time, and concentration of GA. The synthesized Pd nanoparticles were well characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and thermogravimetric analysis. This route was very simple and reproducible, and further study on the application of these nanoparticles for various organic transformations is underway. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 121: 1765-1773, 2011