Preparation of Polymers with Viologen Moieties and Their Application to the Selective Reduction of Substituted Nitroarenes

Abstract

Abstract Polymers with viologen moieties were synthesized by using poly-chlorethyl vinyl ether (PCEVE) as mother supports. These polymers were used as electron-transfer catalysts (ETC) for the reduction of substituted nitroarenes under heterophase conditions (reductant: Na2S2O4 in CH2CI2-H2O). The experimental results show that the substituted nitroarenes were reduced selectively and efficiently to the corresponding aniline derivatives in the presence of viologen polymers. The catalytic active species of viologen were detected by ESR and electrochemical methods. It was found that the viologen cation radical (V+) acts as the active species during the viologen-mediated reduction of substituted nitroarenes.