A Novel and Efficient Synthesis of Hexanitrostilbene by N-Hydroxyphthalimide/FeCl2-Catalyzed Aerobic Dehydrogenation of Hexanitrobibenzyl

A novel and effective catalytic system containing N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) and FeCl2 is described for the preparation of hexanitrostilbene (HNS) by the dehydrogenation of hexanitrobibenzyl (HNBB) under an oxygen atmosphere. The reaction conditions, such as reaction time, and the amount of NHPI were discussed. The efficient and more environmentally friendly method proved to be a better selection when compared to other previous methods, such as Shipp and Kaplan's method [1 Shipp , K. G. and L. A. Kaplan . 1996 . Reactions of a-substituted polynitroluenes. 2. The generation and reactions of 2,4,6-trini-trobenzyl anion . Journal of Organic Chemistry , 31 : 857 – 861 .[Crossref] [Google Scholar]].