2-benzylaniline is an important compound as an intermediate material for pharmaceuticals. One of the known methods of manufacturing this compound is to reduce 2-aminobenzophenone with metallic sodium or hydrazine (J. Chem. Soc., 292, 1948; Chem. Ber., 96, 765, 1963). However, the starting 2-aminobenzophenone used therefor is difficult to obtain, and further, the cost of 2-aminobenzophenone is relatively high. Therefore, there has been a demand to develop a less expensive manufacturing method for industrial use.
Another method is known which applies Friedel-Crafts reaction-to 2-aminobenzylchloride hydrochloride and benzene by using aluminum chloride (Chem. Ber., 61, 2276, 1928). Another known method is to reduce o-nitrodiphenyl methane obtained by Friedel-Crafts reaction using 2-nitrobenzylchloride and benzene with aluminum chloride (J. Am. Chem. Soc., 53, 1428, 1931). However, benzene is a carcinogenic material and its safety problem remains unsolved in industrial production.