Iron and Nitrogen Co‐Doped Mesoporous Carbon‐Based Heterogeneous Catalysts for Selective Reduction of Nitroarenes

Abstract

AbstractA facile fabrication of Fe and N co‐doped mesoporous carbon (MC), as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the highly selective reduction of nitroarenes, is described. The Fe and N co‐doped MC nanosheets are easily synthesized via a hydrothermal reaction between citrate acid and magnesium citrate, followed by calcination in the presence of melamine and potassium ferrocyanide. The Fe−N complex provides a unique active site for the selective reduction of 1‐chloro‐4‐nitrobenzene, leading to the production of (E)‐1,2‐bis(4‐chlorophenyl)diazene with a selectivity of >96%, in <40 mins. Control experiments based on non‐doped, N‐doped, and Fe‐doped MC nanosheets demonstrate that selectivity greatly depends on the catalyst active component type, and that non‐doped MC significantly contributes to the high efficiencies observed in the selective synthesis of azoxy compound intermediates. A broad range of substrates, including extra‐functional groups on the nitroarenes rings, were successfully converted to the corresponding azo compounds at mild conditions with high selectivity.magnified image