Abstract

This paper describes the catalytic activation studies on the reduction of nitrobenzene to aniline by cis-[Rh(CO) 2(amine) 2]PF 6 (amine = 4-picoline, 2-picoline, or pyridine) anchored on poly(4-vinylpyridine) in aqueous 2-ethoxyethanol under water gas shift reaction conditions. The effect of varying the nature of the amine was investigated. The rhodium complex bearing 4-picoline (4-pic) ligands proved to be the most active among those surveyed, showing turnover frequencies for aniline production of 43.9 mole aniline per mole Rh per day for 9.4 × 10 -5 mole cis-[Rh(CO) 2(4-pic) 2]PF 6/g of polymer, under P(CO) = 0.9 atm and T = 100°C.