Hydrogenation of nitroarenes to anilines in a flow reactor using polystyrene supported rhodium in a catalyst-cartridge (Cart-Rh@PS)

Abstract

The present methodology described the chemo-selective hydrogenation of various nitroarenes in a flow reactor under polystyrene supported rhodium in a catalyst-cartridge (Cart-Rh@PS) as a heterogeneous nano-catalyst. The polystyrene supported Rh (Rh@PS) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by following our earlier reported protocol and packed inside the catalyst-cartridge (Cat-Cart) to obtain Cart-Rh@PS, which is compatible with ThalesNano's H-Cube Pro flow system. The advantages of the prepacked catalyst Cart-Rh@PS are as follows: no need for catalyst activation up to 12 runs, negligible metal leaching detected by ICP-AES analysis and significantly less back pressure generated under the flow conditions. The same catalyst, Cart-Rh@PS, was also effective up to a 1 gram scale for the reduction of nitroarenes and reusable for successive runs. The hydrogenation in the flow reactor is a greener approach for the reduction of nitroarenes to their corresponding anilines in high yields.