Iron impregnated SBA-15, a mild and efficient catalyst for the catalytic hydride transfer reduction of aromatic nitro compounds

Ordered hexagonal mesoporous Fe-SBA-15 with a large pore diameter was synthesized by a simple wet impregnation method using an aqueous solution of iron nitrate as a precursor. The incorporation of iron into the channels of mesoporous silica was confirmed and its textural and morphological properties were studied by various characterization techniques such as XRD, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, FTIR and DRS UV-vis spectroscopy, XPS and SEM. The catalytic activity of Fe-SBA-15 was studied for the catalytic hydride transfer reaction of aromatic nitro compounds into amino compounds. The regio-selectivity of the reduction of different nitro substituted compounds with Fe-SBA-15 was discussed.