Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.138, No.29, 9077-9080, 2016
Highly Efficient Process for Production of Biofuel from Ethanol Catalyzed by Ruthenium Pincer Complexes
A highly efficient ruthenium pincer-catalyzed Guerbet-type process for the production of biofuel from ethanol has been developed. It produces the highest conversion of ethanol (73.4%, 0.02 mol% catalyst) for a Guerbet-type reaction, including significant amounts of C-4 (35.8% yield), C-6 (28.2% yield), and C-8 (9.4% yield) alcohols. Catalyst loadings as low as 0.001 mol% can be used, leading to a record turnover number of 18 209. Mechanistic studies reveal the likely active ruthenium species and the main deactivation process.