shivam - 3-3-2016 at 21:32
Hello!
So I have successfully made 3-nitrophthalhydrazide with reasonably well yields. And being a home chemist, that's quite an accomplishment for me!
Now I know about the procedure of reducing it to luminol using sodium dithionite (sodium hydrosulfite)
However sodium dithionite is readily available where i live, it's pretty costly
Plus i also want to explore other ways of reducing 3-NPH to luminol
I have tried Nurdrage's method using sodium metabisulfite and aluminum in highly basic media. And it doesn't seem to work out considerably good for
me.
By that method, everything becomes a giant mess and the reduction doesn't even seem to work much efficiently
Also, the separation of luminol is also a giant pain
So is there any other way of reducing 3-nitrophthalhydrazide other than sodium dithionite or Nurdrage's method ?
Thanks In advance!
UC235 - 4-3-2016 at 07:16
Yes, thiourea dioxide is available to the public for fabric dyeing and makes a fine reducing agent for nitro groups in aq. ammonia (or NaOH solution
where I wasn't afraid of hydrolyzing anything).
Discussion from http://www.orgsyn.org/Content/pdfs/procedures/CV3P0069.pdf mentions stannous chloride and ammonium sulfide as possible options.
Attachment: Thiox reduction of nitro.pdf (559kB)
This file has been downloaded 639 times
Attachment: thiox reduction nitroaromatics.pdf (140kB)
This file has been downloaded 390 times
shivam - 4-3-2016 at 09:07
Oh thanks a lot!! It's really useful..
However, One thing I've noticed among all methods of reducing 3-NPH is that basic media seems to be necessary (because it contains a hydrazine
molecule fused to it?? idk the reason)
But if it's like that, thinking a bit further along the line of alkaline reduction, should I try sodium sulfide in aqueous ethanol to reduce nitro
group to amine?
I mean, it is known for reducing nitrobenzene to aniline, but should it theoretically work given we have a hydrazine fused to the compound? Should it
be worth buying the reagents and giving it a go?
Magpie - 4-3-2016 at 09:34
If sodium dithonite (aka sodium hydrosulfite) is too expensive from a chemical company you might find it as an OTC dye whitener. I can buy it as a
Rit brand whitener at my grocery store. It contains some sodium carbonate as a stabilizer.
[Edited on 4-3-2016 by Magpie]
[Edited on 4-3-2016 by Magpie]
shivam - 4-3-2016 at 11:56
Sodium dithionite is 400 Rupees/500 gm (around $5.5/ 1 lb)
I wouldn't say it's THAT costly..
Just a notch higher than expected
At local chemical outlet where I live, almost ALL chemicals are readily available and they're unbelievably cheap (no, like seriously cheap) 
So other than price, exploring other reducing ways is actually my main motive here..