Polychloroarenes can be dehalogenated with sodium formate in propan-2-ol using RhCl (PPh3) 3 as the catalyst. The hydrogenolysis of 1, 2, 4-trichlorobenzene is selective to 1, 2- dichlorobenzene, whereas the hydrogenolysis of 1, 3-and 1, 4-dichlorobenzene is sequential and selective according to the sequence: chlorobenzene> benzene.
