Selective conversion of coconut oil to fatty alcohols in methanol over a hydrothermally prepared Cu/SiO2 catalyst without extraneous hydrogen†
Liubi Wu,Lulu Li,Bolong Li,Chen Zhao
Chemical Communications Pub Date : 05/12/2017 00:00:00 , DOI:10.1039/C7CC01126A
Abstract

A novel one-pot approach selects a hydrothermally synthesized Cu/SiO2 catalyst (consisting of Cu2O·SiO2 and Cu0 surface species) to catalyze the reduction of a series of fatty esters, fatty acids, and coconut oil to fatty alcohols at 240 °C in methanol without extraneous hydrogen, attaining around 85% conversion and 100% selectivity.

Graphical abstract: Selective conversion of coconut oil to fatty alcohols in methanol over a hydrothermally prepared Cu/SiO2 catalyst without extraneous hydrogen