Simple and chemoselective reduction of aromatic nitro compounds to aromatic amines: reduction with hydriodic acid revisited

Reduction of aromatic nitro compounds to amines with hydriodic acid was reinvestigated. Under a milder non-refluxing condition (at 90°C for 2–4 h), the reduction proceeded efficiently with excellent chemoselectivity without affecting other functional groups including nitrile, ester, halide, carbonyl, amide, sulfonamide, imidazole and methylthio groups.