4-Nitrophenol Reduction: Probing the Putative Mechanism of the Model Reaction

We report a reinterpretation of the reduction of 4-nitrophenol catalyzed by silver nanoparticles. Mass spectrometry and ultraviolet–visible light spectroscopy measurements support the existence of 4-nitrosophenol as a stable reaction intermediate. We propose that dissolved oxygen is consumed, both by oxidizing 4-nitrosophenol (an intermediate) and reoxidizing the reduced catalyst surface, resulting in the commonly observed “induction period” in the reaction kinetics. Upon complete consumption of dissolved oxygen, subsequent reduction to 4-aminophenol can occur. A complete kinetic analysis including modeling is presented, conceptually fitting data from recent reports in the literature, as well as fitting data from our own experiments.