A solvent-free, selective liquid phase hydrogenation of nitroarenes to aniline in slurry bubble mode on porous NiMo bimetallic catalyst

NiMo bimetallic catalysts were prepared by a solid reaction method. On the NiMo catalyst, the selective liquid phase hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to aniline was achieved in slurry bubble mode. And the high yields (98.9%) were obtained under the conditions of 80 °C, solvent-free and atmospheric pressure. The effect of Mo on the catalytic behavior of Ni based catalyst was investigated. The characterization displayed that the inclusion of Mo could improve the specific surface area and pore volume, and the solid reaction method made metal Mo enrichment on the surface of catalyst. These two aspects should be responsible for excellent catalytic performance of NiMo catalyst. In sum, we described a simple and efficient NiMo catalyst and provided a facile and green procedure for liquid phase hydrogenation of nitrobenzene to aniline.