Magnetic graphene nanocomposite as an efficient catalyst for hydrogenation of nitroarenes

Graphene-Fe 3 O 4 nanocomposite (G-Fe 3 O 4 ) was synthesized by a chemical co-precipitation method which was used as an efficient catalyst for the reduction of nitroarenes with hydrazine hydrate. The method has been applied to a broad range of compounds with different properties and the yields were in the range of 75%–92%. The G-Fe 3 O 4 catalyst can be readily recovered and reused 5 times without significant loss of the catalytic activity.