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Title: Regioselective hydrogenation of polynuclear heteroaromatic compounds catalyzed by polymer-supported transition metal complexes: initial rates, mechanism of reduction, model coal liquid experiment, role of p-cresol in rate enhancement of nitrogen ring reduction, catalytic transfer hydrogenation

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5664333

The research program focused on the utilization of polymer-supported (polystyrene-divinylbenzene, PS-DVB) transition-metal catalysts in the selective catalytic hydrogenation of polynuclear heteroaromatic compounds that are known to be present in coal and coal liquids. We found that the polymer-supported chloro(tristriphenylphosphine)rhodium(l) was the most efficient catalyst for the regiospecific reduction of the nitrogen containing ring in model coal compounds such as quinoline, 5,6 and 7,8-benzoquinoline, and acridine, and in one case, a heteroaromatic sulfur compound, benzothiophene. Interestingly, the polymer-supported rhodium catalyst was more active than the corresponding homogeneous analogue by relative rate factors of 10 to 20 depending on the substrate studied in the reduction. More importantly, a model coal liquid was found to have a relative rate of reduction of quinoline to 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline (THQ) that was 2.2 times faster than a similar experiment without the coal liquid constituents consisting of pyrene, tetralin, methylnaphthalene, p-cresol, quinoline and 2-methylpyridine. Further experimentation clearly showed that the model coal liquid constituent, p-cresol, was responsible for the relative rate enhancement in the highly regiospecific reduction of quinoline to THQ. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) experiments have given some insight into this rate enhancement phenomena. We also found that 9,10-dihydrophenanthridine was an excellent catalytic transfer hydrogenation reagent in the presence of several homogeneous and polymer-supported transition-metal catalysts to transfer hydrogen to such acceptors as quinoline and acridine. We also evaluated dihydroquinoline as a hydrogen transfer reagent, since THQ has been used as a donor solvent in coal liquefaction experiments. 15 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC03-76SF00098
OSTI ID:
5664333
Report Number(s):
LBL-19694; CONF-8504130-2; ON: DE85015133
Resource Relation:
Conference: 10. annual EPRI contractors' conference on coal liquefaction, Palo Alto, CA, USA, 23 Apr 1985; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English