Zeolite-assisted regioselective synthesis of dinitronaphthalene

The nitration selectivity of naphthalene was studied in different organic solvents with 95 % fuming nitric acid as nitration reagent. The yield of dinitronaphthalene can achieve 78 % in hexane. With nitrogen dioxide as nitration reagent in oxygen, the selectivity of dinitronaphthalene in different types of molecular sieve catalyst was studied. When HBEA zeolite catalyst was used, the yield of dinitronaphthalene was up to 61 %. This method is easy to carry out, environmentally benign, and economical.