Abstract
Unsaturated alcohols can be synthesized by selective hydrogenation of unsaturated carbonyl compounds, and they are used as important intermediates for perfumes and medicines. However, since selective hydrogenation of the carbonyl group in unsaturated carbonyl compounds is thermodynamically and kinetically unfavorable, development of effective heterogeneous catalysts for the reaction is desirable. In this study, hydrogenation of unsaturated carbonyl compounds (unsaturated aldehydes and unsaturated ketones) to the corresponding unsaturated alcohols was investigated using metal oxide modified noble metal catalysts, showing that Ir-FeOx/MgO catalyst is effective for the reaction.
