Green route for the chlorination of nitrobenzene Original Research Article

A new green chlorination process of deactivated aromatics has been developed, being environmental-friendly and allowing the continuous chlorination of 1.7 kg nitrobenzene/kg catalyst per day. The triple novelty consists of using a non-conventional chlorination agent, the trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA, C3N3O3Cl3), along with solid acid catalysts (mainly zeolites) in a continuous flow reactor system. Different zeolites and solid acids have been tested in the chlorination of nitrobenzene, chosen as a model deactivated aromatic substrate. HUSY zeolite was found as the more promising catalyst for performing the chlorination of nitrobenzene, with good conversions (39–64%) at high selectivity toward monochlorinated products (90–99%). Finally, it is worthy to note that HUSY zeolite could be reused for at least five successive runs. Article Outline