MOF-Derived RuCo Catalyzes the Formation of a Plasticizer Alcohol from Renewable Precursors
Constanze N. Neumann, Steven J. Rozeveld, Mircea Dincă
Abstract
The Guerbet reaction can be used for the condensation of simple bioalcohols, which simultaneously doubles the carbon count and increases the C:O ratio, to yield valuable commodity chemicals. Here, we report a metal–organic framework (MOF)-derived RuCo catalyst that furnishes 2-ethylhexanol, a plasticizer alcohol currently produced on a 2 Mt/a scale. While the industrial route requires propene, the MOF-derived catalyst uses 1-butanol and delivers turnover numbers up to 1.7 × 106 Ru–1. In combination with K3PO4, it serves as a fully heterogeneous catalyst system that yields the Guerbet alcohol without producing sodium butanoate, a common secondary product from the undesired Cannizzaro reaction.