Reduction and oxidation through hydrogen transfer reactions

Abstract

Low loading supported copper catalysts have been used to selectively reduce saturated and unsaturated carbonyl compounds through hydrogen transfer from 2-propanol. The effect of the catalyst support and of the donor alcohol have been investigated in detail in the reduction of 4-tert-butyl-cyclohexanone allowing to put in light a dehydrogenation-hydrogenation mechanism. The dehydrogenation reaction has been used to selectively transform secondary aliphatic alcohols into ketones in the presence of styrene as hydrogen acceptor