Reduction of nitro compounds
Nitro compounds are reduced to amines by passing hydrogen gas
in the presence of finely divided nickel, palladium or platinum and
also by reduction with metals in acidic medium Nitroalkanes can
also be similarly reduced to the corresponding alkanamines Reduction with iron scrap and hydrochloric acid is preferred because
FeCl2 formed gets hydrolysed to release hydrochloric acid during the
reaction Thus, only a small amount of hydrochloric acid is required
to initiate the reaction