title: Highly chemoselective hydrogenation of 2-ethylanthraquinone to 2-ethylanthrahydroquinone catalyzed by palladium metal dispersed inside highly lipophilic functional resins.
abstract: Most hydrogen peroxide is currently produced by the selective hydrogenation of 2-ethylanthraquinone (EAQ) to 2-ethylanthrahydroquinone (EAHQ), followed by treatment with dioxygen; this produces hydrogen peroxide and regenerates 2-ethylanthraquinone. We have developed novel catalysts for this process that are based on palladium supported on very lipophilic functional resins and that are able to promote a chemoselectivity for EAHQ slightly but definitely superior to that provided by an industrial catalyst under identical conditions. This finding demonstrates the potential of variations of the lipophilic/hydrophilic character of the support as a tool for the improvement of the chemoselectivity of resin-based metal catalysts.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica Inorganica Metallorganica ed Analitica Università di Padova, Centro per lo Studio della Stabilità e Reattività dei Composti di Coordinazione, C.N.R. Via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy. andrea.biffis@unipd.it
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Biffis
authors.forename: Rossana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ricoveri
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Campestrini
authors.forename: Milan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kralik
authors.forename: Karel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jeràbek
authors.forename: Benedetto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Corain