A Study on the Reduction of p-Nitroacetanilide with Hydrazine Hydrate

p-Nitroacetanilide was reduced by hydrazine hydrate in the presence of Pd/C as cataiyst. The amount of catalyst was the major factor in reduction and it was determined by the result of orthogonal optimization. It was determined by orthogonal optimization that the amount of catalyst was the major factor in reduction. The conversion of p-nitroacetanilide was 100% when the reaction condition were: p-nitroacetanilide:hydrazine hydrate=1:1.8, p-nitroacetanilide:Pd/C(0.8)=1mol:8.5g, reaction temperature 80℃, reaction time 3h. The chemical structure of p-aminoacetanilide was characterized by MS and IR spectra. The reaction mechanism was studied using HPLC.