Platinum Complex Catalyzed Reductive N-Acylation of Nitro Compounds

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jo00197a023

Aromatic and aliphatic nitro compounds reacted with carboxylic acids at 180 deg C for 4 h in the presence of a catalytic amount of PtCl2(PPh3)2 combined with tin(IV) chloride under 60 atm of carbon monoxide pressure to give corresponding N-substituted amides in moderate to fairly good yields.From nitrobenzene, acetanilide was obtained in 91 percent yield.Tin(IV) chloride can be substituted by other Lewis acids such as SnCl2, FeCl3, VCl3, AlCl3, and ZnCl2.The reaction appears to include the formation of nitrene and isocyanate as key intermediates.