To investigate the green trinitration method of aromatic compounds, with Lewis acid/ionic liquid as catalyst and HNO 3 /Ac 2 O as nitration reagent, a Lewis acid/ionic liquid/HNO 3 /Ac 2 O system was established. In various combinations of Lewis acids and ionic liquids, Bi(NO 3 ) 3 ·5H 2 O/[HMIM]ClO 4 proved to be a very efficient catalyst for the trinitration of activated aromatic compounds and reusable for 3 times. Reaction conditions for the trinitration were optimized and yields of the trinitro products were from mild to excellent. This sulfuric acid-free system has the advantages of strong trinitration ability, low environment pollution, low toxicity, low cost and high potential for industrial application.
The mechanochemical reaction of C60 and Bi(NO3)3·5H2O was performed under ball-milling condition. The product was well characterized by spectroscopic methods such as IR, Raman, UV-vis, 13C NMR, as well as elemental analysis method. The spectroscopic investigation indicates that some hydroxyl and nitro groups are attached to the C60 and no profound structural changes occur for the C60 cage in the product. The elemental analysis gives an average composition of C60(NO2)2(OH)21 for the product. A possible mechanism is suggested for the reaction.