Reduction of nitrobenzene to phenylhydroxylamine with anthraquinone-2-sulfonic sodium as an electron mediator

Abstract

Phenylhydroxylamine (PHA) is a key intermediate for the synthesis of drugs and fine chemicals. However, it is challenging to synthesize PHA with a high selectivity because of the highly unstable nature of the PHA. In this study, we used anthraquinone-2-sulfonic sodium as an electron mediator with the “off-field electrocatalysis” strategy for the reduction of nitrobenzene (NB) and achieved a selectivity as high as 97% at a conversion over 99% of NB to phenylhydroxylamine (PHA).