VAPOR-PHASE HETEROGENEOUS CATALYTIC TRANSFER HYDROGENATION OF ALKYL METHYL KETONES ON MGO - PREVENTION OF THE DEACTIVATION OF MGO IN THE PRESENCE OF CARBON-TETRACHLORIDE

Catalytic transfer hydrogenation (henceforth abbreviated CTH) of alkyl methyl ketones (2-butanone, 2-pentanone and 2-hexanone) by 2-propanol was studied on a commercially available MgO catalyst. Pretreatment of MgO, deactivation of the catalyst, temperature dependence of CTH and the effects of the 2-propanol/ketone ratio and of various catalyst mod ifiers were investigated. An important result of these studies is that the deactivation of MgO may be prevented by treatment with carbon tet rachloride. As a consequence, vapor-phase CTH using commercially avail able MgO may be economically realized. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.