Solid supported Pd(0): an efficient recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for chemoselective reduction of nitroarenes

Solid supported palladium(0) (SS-Pd) catalyzed highly chemoselective reduction of nitroarenes to the corresponding anilines was accomplished under a milder reaction condition. This catalyst showed high compatibility with various reducing agents (NaBH4, Et3SiH, and NH2NH2 center dot H2O) and a large number of reducible functional groups such as sulfonamide, amides, carboxylic acid, ester, alcohol, halide, hetero cycle, nitrile, alkene, carbonyl, O-benzyl, and N-benzyl were tolerated. Most of the reactions were clean and high yielding. The SS-Pd catalyst could be recycled up to seven runs without significant loss of activity. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.