A New Synthetic Process for 4,4'-Dihydroxyazobenzene

4,4'-Dihydroxyazobenzene was synthesized from P-nitrophenol using Lead and triethylammonium formate as reducing agent in methanol at room temperature.The influencing factors such as reaction time,quantity of lead and triethylammonium formate on the yield were studied.The optimum process conditions were found as follows:reaction time 2.5h,Lead 2g,triethylammonium formate 4g,the reaction conversion was 82%.The product was characterized by FT-IR and Element-analysis.