Sustainable and Scalable Fe/ppm Pd Nanoparticle Nitro Group Reductions in Water at Room Temperature

An operationally simple and general process for the safe and selective reduction of nitro groups utilizing ppm Pd supported on Fe nanomaterials in aqueous solution of designer surfactant TPGS-750-M has been developed and successfully carried out at a 100 mmol scale. Preferred use of KBH4 as the hydride source, at ambient temperature and pressure, lends this process suitable for a standard reaction vessel alleviating the need for specialized hydrogenation equipment. Calorimetry data parallel those expected for a classical nitro group reduction when measuring the heat of reaction (-896 to -850 kJ/mol).