Dehydration of 1,4-butanediol over lanthanide oxides

Vapor-phase catalytic dehydration of 1,4-butanediol was investigated over lanthanide oxides at 375 °C. Tetrahydrofuran (THF) and 3-buten-1-ol were competitively produced from 1,4-butanediol: oxides of light rare earth dominantly catalyze cyclization to THF, while oxides of heavy rare earth such as Tb, Er, and Yb effectively catalyze dehydration to 3-buten-1-ol. In particular, Yb2O3 shows the most efficient catalytic activity in the formation of 3-buten-1-ol with the selectivity higher than 80 mol%, which depends on the structure of Yb2O3.