LAUSR

Deoxydehydration, a transformation that selectively converts diols into olefins in a single catalytic step, has great potential for biomass upgrading because it removes oxygen, and the obtained double bond is useful for further functionalization. Recent efforts to produce heterogenized versions of known soluble oxido-rhenium catalysts have produced mixed results, with stability being a recurring issue. In the present work, the reasons for catalyst deactivation were systematically investigated by comparisons within a series of materials distinguished by the support. Catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation of ammonium perrhenate onto TiO2 and ZrO2 at 1, 2, or 4 wt % rhenium and SiO2, Fe2O3, and Al2O3 at 4 wt % rhenium, with subsequent calcination. All catalysts were active in the conversion of 1,2-decanediol to 1-decene at a temperature of 150 °C, in toluene as the solvent at autogenous pressure and with triphenylphosphine as the reductant. The rhenium-normalized 1-decene formation rates f...