Catalytic Hydrogenation of Aliphatic Nitro Compounds with Polysilane/Bone Charcoal-Supported Palladium Catalysts under Continuous-Flow Conditions

Hydrogenation of aromatic nitro compounds has been widely studied, however, the catalytic hydrogenation of aliphatic nitro compounds remains a challenging topic. Herein, a polysilane/bone charcoal-supported Pd catalyst with excellent catalyst activity for the hydrogenation of aliphatic nitro compounds under continuous-flow conditions is described. The catalyst was synthesized by a simple procedure and analyzed by STEM and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) measurements. This polysilane/bone charcoal-supported Pd catalyst demonstrated higher catalyst activity than conventional Pd/C, and a wide substrate scope including secondary and tertiary nitro compounds was achieved. Furthermore, no catalyst deactivation was observed during 120h of continuous-flow reaction without leaching of Pd.