Selective reduction of halo-nitro aromatic compounds using [Rh]/DHTANa as catalyst in an aqueous bi-phase system

The use of water as co-solvent for biphasic reactions and of easily recyclable water-soluble catalysts are highly desirable for the realization of greener processes. The selective reduction of halo nitroarenes to the corresponding haloanilines is a very important industrial transformation for the production of agrochemicals, pigments, bactericides and pharmaceuticals and is not easy to obtain. The application of a water soluble catalyst, prepared by rhodium species and a cheap thioligand, in the hydrogenation of some halonitroarenes is here described. Excellent conversions, good recyclability of the catalytic species embedded in the aqueous phase and very high selectivity are demonstrated. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.