Herein we report a simple ultrasound-assisted procedure to synthesize solid supported Cu(I) and Pd(II) catalysts. We prepared cross-linked chitosan derivatives (CS-Cu, CS-Pd) by reacting hexamethylene diisocyanate and chitosan in the presence of the metal salt. The in situ polymerization in water under sonochemical conditions was extremely fast and efficient. The catalysts were characterized by FT-IR, XPS, ICP-MS. and TGA. The Cu(I)-loaded polyurethane/urea-bridged chitosan was used for the azide/alkyne [3 + 2] cycloaddition, while those bearing Pd(II) complexes were used for Suzuki cross-couplings. In both reactions these novel catalysts permitted the use of simpler procedures and the possibility to reuse the catalyst several times with a minimal lost in activity. Our polyurethane/urea-bridged CS-Cu and CS-Pd complexes are superior in term of activity, recyclability and ease of preparation when compared to the adsorbed Cu or Pd/chitosan catalysts. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.