Iron and Nitrogen Co-Doped Mesoporous Carbon-Based Heterogeneous Catalysts for Selective Reduction of Nitroarenes

A facile fabrication of Fe and N co-doped mesoporous carbon (MC), as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the highly selective reduction of nitroarenes, is described. The Fe and N co-doped MC nanosheets are easily synthesized via a hydrothermal reaction between citrate acid and magnesium citrate, followed by calcination in the presence of melamine and potassium ferrocyanide. The Fe−N complex provides a unique active site for the selective reduction of 1-chloro-4-nitrobenzene, leading to the production of (E)-1,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)diazene with a selectivity of >96%, in <40 mins. Control experiments based on non-doped, N-doped, and Fe-doped MC nanosheets demonstrate that selectivity greatly depends on the catalyst active component type, and that non-doped MC significantly contributes to the high efficiencies observed in the selective synthesis of azoxy compound intermediates. A broad range of substrates, including extra-functional groups on the nitroarenes rings, were successfully converted to the corresponding azo compounds at mild conditions with high selectivity.