Selective reduction of nitroaromatic compounds on silver nanoparticles by visible light

For the first time, we report experimentally and theoretically that nitroaromatic compounds, 2,4-dinitrobenzenethiol and 4-chloro-2-nitrobenzenethiol, on silver sols can be selectively reduced to 2-amino-4-nitrobenzenethiol and 2-amino-4-chlorobenzenethiol simply by irradiating with a visible light in ambient conditions, and the selective photoreduction is a very facile process. The results of quantum chemical calculations are in good agreement with our experimental data. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.