A green reduction of aromatic nitro compounds to aromatic amines over a novel Ni/SiO2 catalyst passivated with a gas mixture

An efficient, mild and practical method for the reduction of aromatic nitro compounds using Ni/SiO2 as catalyst is reported. The catalyst has been prepared and characterized by XRD, FT-IR, TEM, SEM successfully. The Ni loading is about 55 wt.%. The prominent merit of the Ni/SiO2 catalyst passivated with a gas mixture is that it can be stored safely in air below 423 K and needs no activation before use. In the catalytic test, Ni/SiO2 is found to be a highly efficient and reusable catalyst for the reduction of various aromatic nitro compounds. This catalyst is applicable for the preparation of various aromatic amines with different groups, the conversion and selectivity are almost up to 100%. Moreover, it is inexpensive, can be prepared and scaled up easily.