A green synthesis route of ortho-chloroaniline: Solvent-free selective hydrogenation of ortho-chloronitrobenzene over Pt–Ru/Fe3O4/C catalyst

Abstract A green and convenient approach was provided to produce useful o-chloroaniline (o-CAN) over Pt–Ru/Fe 3 O 4 /C catalyst. The catalyst was prepared by impregnation method and exhibited high activity and selectivity for the selective hydrogenation of o-chloronitrobenzene (o-CNB) under solvent-free conditions Up to 100% selectivity to o-CAN was achieved at complete o-CNB conversion. The catalyst was characterized by TEM, EDX, XPS, XRD and FT-IR, and the possible reasons of the high catalytic activity and the deactivation of the catalyst after 20 cycles were discussed.