Hydrogenation of aromatic nitro compounds on soluble metal-polymer catalysts

Hydrogenation of aromatic nitro compounds is the most convenient means of synthesizing the corresponding primary amines. In most cases, heterogeneous contacts are used for these purposes. Metal-complex catalysts are generally more active in this reaction, but less stable, and furthermore they are difficult to remove from the reaction mixture. These difficulties can be overcome by using metal-polymer catalysts, which have recently been the subject of intense investigation. In the present paper a study is made of the hydrogenation of a number of nitro compounds in the presence of catalysts based on palladium or rhodium and polyacrylic acid (Pd-PAA and Rh-PAA respectively).