General procedure for the synthesis of 5-amino-2,3-dihydroisoindol-1-one from 6-nitro-isoindolin-1-one: A mixture of 6-nitro-isoindolin-1-one (100 mg, 0.56 mmol), and reduced iron powder (314 mg, 5.6 mmol) was added to ethanol (2.0 mL) and concentrated hydrochloric acid (0.5 mL) and heated and refluxed for 2 hours. The completion of the reaction was monitored by thin layer chromatography (TLC). Upon completion of the reaction, it was cooled to room temperature, the acid in the reaction solution was neutralized with a methanol solution saturated with ammonia (NH3), filtered through diatomaceous earth, the filtrates were washed with methanol, the filtrates were combined and the solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure to give 5-amino-2,3-dihydroisoindol-1-one (70.0 mg, 84% yield) as a white solid.
