Direct Aniline Formation with Benzene and Hydroxylamine

A single-step method for aniline formation was examined. Using a vanadate catalyst with an iron oxide co-catalyst and hydroxylamine hydrochloride as the amine source, an up to 90% yield of aniline was obtained with high selectivity. Further study showed that the overall reaction was pseudo-second order in terms of hydroxylamine concentration. Regioselective H-D exchange experiments suggest that the C-N bond formation step occurs via an irreversible electrophilic pathway. Based on all of the key observations, a mechanism is proposed.