Homogeneous ruthenium catalysts useful in the reduction of ortho-substituted nitroaromatics to amines

Claim 1

A process for selectively hydrogenating the nitro groups of mononitroaromatic substrates wherein said nitroaromatics contain one or more ortho-substituents selected from the group consisting of alkyl, halogenated alkyl, alkoxyl, acetyl, halo, substituted amino and amino substituents, and mixtures thereof, to the corresponding amines, utilizing a homogeneous ruthenium-containing catalyst complex selected from the group consisting of RuCl 2 [P(C 6 H 5 ) 3 ] 3 , [RuCl 2 (CO) 3 ] 2 , RuCl 2 [As(C 6 H 5 ) 3 ] 3 RuHCl[P(C 6 H 5 ) 3 ] 3 , Ru(CH 3 COCHCOCH 3 ) 3 , RuCl 3 .XH 2 O, RuCl 3 NO[P-(C 6 H 5 ) 3 ] 2 , RuCl 2 (CO) 2 [P(C 6 H 5 ) 3 ] 2 and Ru(CH 3 COO) 3 in combination with a quaternary ammonium hydroxide selected from the group consisting of tetramethylammonium hydroxide, tetraethylammonium hydroxide, benzyltrimethylammonium hydroxide, trimethyloctylammonium hydroxide and dimethyldioctylammonium hydroxide, by the process consisting essentially of, a. admixing each mole of said nitroaromatic substrates to be reduced with at least a catalytic amount of one or more of said ruthenium-containing catalyst complexes in an oxidizer-free, non-aqueous solvent media to form a reaction mixture, b. introducing into said reaction mixture an excess of quaternary ammonium hydroxide and at least sufficient hydrogen gas to hydrogenate the nitro groups of said substrates to the corresponding amines, at superatmospheric pressures ranging from about 100 psi to about 2000 psi, and c. heating said pressurized reaction mixture between about 20° to about 160° C. until said nitroaromatic substrates are reduced to amines.