A direct route from acids to alcohols
Making alcohols via hydrogen addition to C=O bonds is among the most widely applied reactions in chemistry. The transformation has also garnered renewed interest for generating commodity chemicals from biomass. Korstanje
et al.
now show that a cobalt compound can catalyze hydrogenation of the C=O bonds in carboxylic acids. These constitute a particularly challenging substrate class, given the propensity of many other catalysts to degrade under acidic conditions. The cobalt catalyst tolerates a versatile substrate range, and the Earth abundance of the metal bodes well for long-term utility.
Science
, this issue p.
298
将酸转化为醇的直接途径
通过向C=O键添加氢制备醇是化学中最广泛应用的反应之一。这种转化也引起了人们对利用生物质生成商品化学品的新兴兴趣。Korstanje等人现在展示了一种钴化合物可以催化羧酸中C=O键的加氢反应。鉴于许多其他催化剂在酸性条件下容易降解,这些羧酸构成了一类特别具有挑战性的底物。钴催化剂能容忍多种底物范围,并且金属的地球丰度为其长期实用性打下了良好基础。
《科学》,本期第298页。