Continuous mechanochemical nitration of solid aromatics using nitric acid

Abstract

This manuscript reports continuous flow mechanochemical aromatic nitration of solid aromatic substrates using nitric acid in a vertical single-screw reactor. The substrates include naphthalene, anthracene, salicylic acid, 3-hydroxy-benzaldehyde, 2,6-di-tertbutylphenol, 2,5-di-methylphenol, p-methoxyphenol, p-bromophenol and p-aminophenol. Aromatic nitrations being exothermic, the heat of reaction facilitates achieving the desired temperature. The inertial motion of the screw facilitates mixing within the threads, which aids efficient heat transfer. Temperature control was achieved using a jacket that was used to pass the heating/cooling fluid depending on the substrate. The absence of any solvent significantly expedites the reaction, and control of residence time and temperature facilitates controlled mono-nitration in an efficient manner. In all the cases, the reaction times reduced from several hours to just a few minutes, achieving complete conversion. A case study on the process economics for one such substrate shows significant savings with this approach.

Graphical abstract: Continuous mechanochemical nitration of solid aromatics using nitric acid

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
31 Mar 2025
Accepted
10 Jun 2025
First published
10 Jul 2025

Green Chem., 2025, Advance Article

Continuous mechanochemical nitration of solid aromatics using nitric acid

A. Hussain, V. Ganthimeri and A. A. Kulkarni, Green Chem., 2025, Advance Article , DOI: 10.1039/D5GC01578B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements