Hydrogenation of nitroarenes with palladium nanoparticles stabilized by alkyne derivatives in homogeneous phase

Palladium nanoparticles stabilized by alkyne derivatives catalyzed the hydrogenation of nitroarenes to the aryl amines in homogeneous phase. The reaction of nitrobenzene proceeded smoothly with a substrate-to-palladium molar ratio (S/Pd) of 51,000 under 8 atm of H-2. The reaction under 1 atm of H-2 with an S/Pd of 1030 was completed in 4 h. A series of substituted nitroarenes, including 4-acetyl- and 4-formylnitrobenzenes, were converted to the aryl amines with high chemoselectivity. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.