Green semi-hydrogenation of alkynes by Pd@borate monolith catalysts under continuous flow

Palladium nanoparticles were immobilized onto an unconventional polymeric borate macroporous monolith and the resulting mesoreactor (i.d. 3 mm, length 25 mm) used in liquid-phase catalytic semi-hydrogenation reaction of substituted alkynes under continuous flow. The catalytic system showed excellent efficiency, both in terms of activity and selectivity, and long-term stability under mild reaction conditions (methanol, room temperature, 1.5 bar H-2 max), with no need of additives. Particularly, the leaf alcohol cis-3-hexen-1-ol was for the first time obtained with selectivity comparable to that of the industrial batch process. The performance of the catalyst is discussed and compared with those of the analogous batch and industrial processes. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.