One pot catalytic NO2 reduction, ring hydrogenation, and N-alkylation from nitroarenes to generate alicyclic amines using Ru/C-NaNO2

•One pot NO2 reduction, ring hydrogenation, and N-alkylation using Ru/C-NaNO2.•Nitrobenzene undergoes –NO2 reduction, ring hydrogenation, and N-alkylation.•Secondary alcohols having less acidity showed good selectivity toward CHA.•Ru/C catalyst is highly stable without any metal leaching up to 5 recycles.

A report to produce alicyclic amines and subsequent N-alkylation with alcohols using Ru/C-NaNO2 catalyzed facile transformation of nitrobenzene was investigated. Effects of solvent, temperature, pressure, reaction time, and molar-ratio of substrate/catalyst on product composition were also studied. These mechanistic studies explain that nitrobenzene undergoes hydrogenation reaction in the following order; –NO2 reduction to –NH2, aromatic ring-hydrogenation to alicyclic, and from the reaction of alcohol to give N-alkylated amines. This investigation shed lights on possible application to polyurethane chemistry since these amines are used as important precursors for diisocyanates.