Transfer Dehydrogenation of 1-Octanol to 1-Octanal over Cu/MgO Catalyst: Effect of Cu Particle Size

Cu/MgO catalysts with different Cu particle sizes were prepared by a precipitation-deposition method and investigated for their activity in the transfer dehydrogenation of alcohols to carbonyl compounds. They were highly active for the conversion of primary aliphatic alcohols, e.g. 1-octanol. With increasing Cu particle size from 4.6 to 7.4 nm, the aldehyde yield decreased from 65% to 55%, which showed a size effect. The copper particle abstracted an a-hydrogen from the reactive alkoxide intermediate formed on the surface of MgO and simultaneously catalyzed the hydrogenation of styrene.