Tailoring Interfacial Lewis Acid-Basic Pair on ZnO/4Mg1ZrOx Allows Dehydrogenative α-Methylenation of Alcohols with Methanol to Allylic Alcohols

Abstract Allylic alcohols are the essential building blocks widely used in diverse streams of organic inventions for pharmaceuticals, fragrances, agrochemicals and polymers. Currently, allylic alcohols are industrially produced from petroleum-based feedstocks via atom uneconomic processes. More sustainable synthesis route for allylic alcohols is limited. Herein, a methodology for the direct and highly selective production of allylic alcohols has been accomplished by controlled dehydrogenative α-methylenation of alcohols with methanol. This transformation is enabled by interfacial Lewis acid-basic pair on tailor-made ZnO/4Mg1ZrOx mixed oxide. High selectivity (83∼92%) of allylic alcohols is the consequence of alcohols acceptorless dehydrogenation to liberation of H2 and Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley type hydrogen transfer onto C = O bonds of unsaturated aldehydes. Furthermore, the prepared ZnO/4Mg1ZrOx mixed oxide shows good stability after 200 h time on stream test. These observations could additionally allow us to design multifunctional solid acid-basic catalysts for the transformations of renewable oxygenates into value-added chemicals.