To obtain 2-aminobenzyl alcohol in high yield at a low cost from 2-nitrobenzaldehyde easily available in the market while suppressing the formation of by-products by reducing the aldehyde with hydrogen.
A 2-nitrobenzaldehyde compound is hydrogenated in an aqueous organic solvent in the presence of a metallic catalyst. The aqueous organic solvent is preferably a mixture of an alcohol and water. Preferably, the 2- nitrobenzaldehyde is intermittently or continuously added to the reaction system during the reaction. The 2-nitrobenzaldehyde compound is preferably a compound of formula I (R1 and R2 are each H, an alkyl, an alkoxy or a halogen) and the 2-aminobenzyl alcohol is preferably the compound of formula II. The metallic catalyst is especially preferably Raney-nickel and the amount of the catalyst is preferably about 2-40wt.%, especially 5-30wt.% based on the n- nitrobenzaldehyde used as a raw material.
KUNIKATA KENJI
FUJIMOTO MASAKI
