Catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis mechanism of benzyl phenyl ether over NiCu/Al2O3 using isopropanol as hydrogen source

Efficient transfer hydrogenolysis of benzyl phenyl ether (BPE) was accomplished over Ni 1.5 Cu 1.5 /Al 2 O 3 using isopropanol as hydrogen source . The characterization results demonstrated that the formation of NiCu alloy and electron transfer between Ni and Cu were responsible for the excellent catalytic performance. Isopropanol displayed better hydrogen-donating ability than other low-carbon alcohols because of its unique dehydrogenation pathway and small steric hindrance . The results of isotopic experiments elucidated that active hydrogen species for the C O bond cleavage originated from isopropanol rather than H 2 , while both isopropanol and H 2 were responsible for hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanol when reaction was conducted with mixed hydrogen sources. A mechanism study illustrated that transfer hydrogenolysis of BPE proceeded through direct cleavage of C O bond followed by phenol hydrogenation, in which the active hydrogen species were in the form of H + and H − .