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Updated: Mar 19, 2026

A Continuous-flow Photocatalytic Reactor for the Precisely Controlled Deposition of Metallic Nanoparticles
Published on: April 10, 2019
Safe and Selective Nitro Group Reductions Catalyzed by Sustainable and Recyclable Fe/ppm Pd Nanoparticles in Water at
Jie Feng1,2, Sachin Handa3, Fabrice Gallou4
1Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
Abstract:
As a result of a unique synergy between ligand-free Fe/ppm Pd nanoparticles and PEG-containing designer surfactants, a facile and selective reduction of nitro-containing aromatics and heteroaromatics can be effected in water at room temperature in the presence of NaBH4 . This new nanotechnology involves low catalyst loadings, is highly chemoselective, and tolerates a wide variety of functional groups. The process, which includes recycling of the entire aqueous medium, offers a general, environmentally responsible, and notably safe approach to highly valued reductions of nitro-containing compounds.
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