High turnover and selective Bin-Pd-NCs catalyst for nitro group non-hydrogen reductions in H2O under air conditions: A sustainable and recyclable route to aromatic amines

• Published in: Journal of catalysis 2024-09, Vol.437, p.115676, Article 115676
• Main Authors: Xia, Yun-Tao, Wang, Xia, Su, Ming-Hui, Zhou, Jia-Yong, Guo, Duo-Xin, Zhang, Bin-Peng, Sun, Wan-Peng, Cui, Chen, Yan, Meng, Li, Ya-Xin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anilines; Green synthesis; Palladium nanoclusters
• ISSN: 0021-9517; 1090-2694
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcat.2024.115676

[Display omitted] •Transfer hydrogenation under air conditions.•Green reactions based on aqueous phase.•The synergistic action of two reaction mechanisms.•No organic solvents are used in the reaction and post-treatment process.•35 examples, 100 % selectivity, yield up to 99 %. A green synthesis of anilines by the non-hydrogen reduction of nitro compounds is described. The reaction and post-treatment purification processes can produce high-purity target products without the use of organic solvents. The key to success lies in the synergistic action of two reaction mechanisms. The hydrogen transfer system is significantly accelerated by the presence of binaphthyl-palladium nanoclusters, which permits the catalyzed selective transfer hydrogenation under air conditions, providing a general preparation of aromatic amines in good-to-high yields with excellent chemoselectivities. Benefitting from the heterogeneous manner in water, successful recycling of the catalysts was further achieved with high reaction efficiency maintained. Meanwhile, the ICP analysis results show that the residual palladium content in the target product was below 5 ppm.