KAGAKU KOGAKU RONBUNSHU, Vol.32, No.3, 274-280, 2006
Dehydrogenation of unsaturated alcohols with CuO/ZnO catalysts
Dehydrogenation of cis-3-hexen-1-ol with CuO/ZnO catalyst in a fixed-bed catalytic reactor was examined from 438 to 458 K as a model reaction of dehydrogenation of unsaturated alcohols. The main products were cis-3-hexenal, 1-hexanol and hexanal. The reaction pathways were as follows: 1) dehydrogenation of cis-3-hexen-1-ol to form 3-hexanal, 2) hydrogenation of cis-3-hexene-1-ol with hydrogen derived from dehydrogenation to give 1-hexanol, 3) hydrogenation of cis-3-hexenal, 4) dehydrogenation of 1-hexanol. Reactions 3) and 4) yielded hexanal, which was the major product, with yields of up to about 80%. Calculation of the equilibrium of this reaction system by estimation of the thermodynamic properties of cis-3-hexen-1-ol and cis-3-hexenal, which properties have not been reported, revealed that hexanal was very stable in this temperature region and agreed with the experimental results. The rate constant for this reaction was correlated with a reaction model that be able to reproduce the experimental data at 438-458 K.