HYDROGENATION OF OLEFINS WITH HYDRATED NICKEL CHLORIDE, LITHIUM AND ACATALYTIC AMOUNT OF NAPHTHALENE

The reaction of different olefins or dienes with a mixture of nickel ( II) chloride dihydrate, an excess of lithium powder and a catalytic am ount of naphthalene (17 mol%) in THF at room temperature, leads to the formation of the corresponding alkanes. The incorporation of deuteriu m oxide to the nickel salt complex yields deuterated hydrocarbons. Fin ally, in the case of dienes as starting materials the method can serve for mono or dihydrogenation depending on the amount of nickel salt us ed. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd