Selective conversion of polycyclic hydrocarbons to specialty chemicals over zeolite catalysts

Recent studies demonstrate that high-value chemicals can be obtained by selective conversion of polycyclic hydrocarbons such as naphthalene, biphenyl, and phenanthrene, over some zeolite catalysts. This article gives examples of shape-selective alkylation of naphthalene into 2,6-dialkylnaphthalene, ring-shift isomerization of symoctahydrophenanthrene into sym-octahydroanthracene, shape-selective alkylation of biphenyl into 4,4'-dialkylbipbenyl, conformational isomerization of cis-decalin into trans-decalin, selective hydrogenation of naphthalene into either cis- or trans-decalin, and regio-selective hydrogenation of heteroatom-containing aromatic compounds such as 1-naphthol. The products of such selective reactions are specialty chemicals, monomers of advanced polymer materials such as high-performance polyesters, advanced engineering plastics, and liquid crystalline polymers, or components of advanced thermally stable aviation jet fuels for high-Mach aircraft.