Vanadium-Catalyzed Deoxydehydration of Glycerol Without an External Reductant

A vanadium-catalysed deoxydehydration (DODH) of neat glycerol has been developed. Cheap and readily available ammonium metavanadate (NH4VO3) affords higher yields of allyl alcohol than the well-established catalyst methyltrioxorhenium. A study in which deuterium-labelled glycerol was used was undertaken to further elucidate the dual role of glycerol as both an oxidant and reductant. This study led to the proposal of a metal-catalysed DODH mechanism for the production of allyl alcohol and a deeper understanding of the formation of the byproducts acrolein and propanal.