Iron impregnated SBA-15, a mild and efficient catalyst for the catalytic hydride transfer reduction of aromatic nitro compounds

Abstract

Ordered hexagonal mesoporous Fe-SBA-15 with a large pore diameter was synthesized by a simple wet impregnation method using an aqueous solution of iron nitrate as a precursor. The incorporation of iron into the channels of mesoporous silica was confirmed and its textural and morphological properties were studied by various characterization techniques such as XRD, N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms, FTIR and DRS UV-vis spectroscopy, XPS and SEM. The catalytic activity of Fe-SBA-15 was studied for the catalytic hydride transfer reaction of aromatic nitro compounds into amino compounds. The regio-selectivity of the reduction of different nitro substituted compounds with Fe-SBA-15 was discussed.