Mesoporous carbon supported Cu as the efficient catalyst for flow hydrogenation processes toward formation of products with pharmaceutical potential

Herein, we investigate the influence of active carbon properties, metal loading and metal dispersion on the catalytic performance of Cu/C catalysts in liquid phase flow selective hydrogenation of 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol, 2-butyne-1,4-diol, and 2-methyl-2-pentenal towards the formation of products with pharmaceutical potential. We have shown the beneficial role of carbon Norit CNR115 on the catalytic performance of Cu/C materials in hydrogenation processes. Our studies also allowed the determination of the optimal reaction parameters and the best Cu dispersion for three hydrogenations. 93% of 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (vitamin A and E precursor) was formed at 97% conversion of 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol at mild conditions (1 bar, 45 °C) on 2 wt% Cu. 90% of the selectivity towards 2-butene-1,4-diol (precursor of vitamin B6, antibiotics, antitumoral and antiepileptic drugs) at 66% of conversion was obtained at 1 bar and 10 °C during 2-butyne-1,4-diole hydrogenation on 2 wt% Cu. Chemoselective hydrogenation of 2-methyl-2-pentenal with 81% of conversion leads to the formation of 100% of 2-methylpentanal at 45 °C and 60 bar for 6 wt% Cu.