Perovskite-type LaFeO3 nanoparticles prepared by thermal decomposition of the La[Fe(CN)6]•5H2O complex: A new reusable catalyst for rapid and efficient reduction of aromatic nitro compounds to arylamines with propan-2-ol under microwave irradiation

Perovskite-type LareO(3) nanoparticles were readily synthesized via thermal decomposition of the La[Fe(CN)(6)]center dot 5H(2)O complex and characterized by using thermal analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and BET specific surface area measurement. This nanosized perovskite-type oxide with an average particle size of 35 nm and a specific surface area 38.5 m(2)/g was used as a new reusable heterogeneous catalyst for highly efficient and selective reduction of aromatic nitro compounds into their corresponding amines by using propan-2-ol as the hydrogen donor under microwave irradiation. This method is regio- and chemoselective, clean, inexpensive and compatible with the substrates having hydrogenlysable or reducible functional groups. As compared with conventional heating, this method is very fast and suitable for large scale preparation of different substituted anilines as well as other arylamines. The catalyst can also be reused without observable loss of its activity. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.