Dihydroanthracene derivatives (1–6) containing imide (1–3) and amine (4–6) functions have been used for the stabilization of palladium nanoparticles, starting from Pd(0) and Pd(II) organometallic precursors. Well-dispersed nanoparticles of mean size in the range ca. 1.9 to 3.6 nm could be obtained using Pd(0) precursors (PdLc and PdLd, where L = 1–6 and c and d mean the organometallic precursor involved