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[Electrochemical reduction of nitrobenzene under mild conditions]
Yu-ping Li1, Hong-bin Cao, Yi Zhang
1Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China.
Abstract:
Effect of cathode materials (S1, S2, AB5, graphite, Ni plate, Fe plate) on the electrochemical reduction of nitrobenzene of light concentration under mild conditions(current density less than 1.0 mA/cm2, pH in the range of 4 - 9), was experimentally studied. In aqueous solution, S1, S2 and AB5 electrodes showed high selectivity of nitrobenzene reduction to aniline, with the nitrobenzene conversion and aniline yield being over 85% and 75%, respectively. The results obtained by cyclic voltammograms and single sweep voltammograms showed that nitrobenzene was directly reduced at S1 and S2 electrodes, while reduced by hydrogen at AB5 electrode. The products electroreduced from nitrobenzene on S1, S2 and AB5 cathodes could be easily degraded by aniline degrading strain AN3 under aerobic condition.
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