Palladium nanoparticles supported on carbon nanoglobules as efficient catalysts for obtaining benzocaine via selective hydrogenation of ethyl 4-nitrobenzoate

The palladium catalysts prepared using carbon nanoglobules (CNGs) as the support and containing no more than 2 wt% Pd were shown to be highly effective for the liquid-phase hydrogenation of ethyl 4-nitrobenzoate under mild conditions. Regardless of the kind of CNGs and the catalyst preparation method, the most of the Pd/CNGs catalysts allow achieving a complete conversion of substrate giving benzocaine in a 100% yield. The Pd/CNGs catalyst is easily recycled many times without loss of its catalytic performance. The results obtained may be useful for the development of effective Pd/C catalysts for chemoselective hydrogenation of various nitroarenes.