Pt/C-catalyzed Selective Hydrogenation of Nitroarenes to N-arylhydroxylamines under Mild Conditions

The synthesis of N-arylhydroxylamines through the in-situ hydrogenation of nitroarenes over commercial Pt/C catalyst was investigated. The effects of various reaction conditions including hydrogen donor, solvent, catalyst dosage, temperature and reaction time on the selective hydrogenation of nitrobenzene (NB) to N-phenylhydroxylamine (PHA) were systematically investigated. The results showed that the yield of N-phenylhydroxylamine reached 87.2 % using hydrazine hydrate as hydrogen donor in N,N-dimethylformamide solvent at 30 C-degrees for 60 min. And the catalyst showed no obvious activity loss after a 6-times recycle. Meanwhile, the developed methodology can also transform a range of nitroarenes to the corresponding N-arylhydroxylamines in excellent yields (74-99 %).