Reaction kinetics of nitrobenzene hydrogenation on a palladium catalyst supported on nanodiamonds

The kinetics of nitrobenzene hydrogenation on a palladium triphenylphosphine catalyst supported on nanodiamonds was studied. It was found that the reaction is of first order with respect to the catalyst and hydrogen and of zero order with respect to nitrobenzene. The apparent constant and activation energy of the reaction were calculated. A probable reaction mechanism was proposed. The effects of the triphenylphosphine-to-palladium ratio and the nature of the solvent and an aromatic nitro compound on the activity of the test catalyst were demonstrated.