Catalytic activities of polynaphthoquinone, containing various metal halides. Dehydrogenation of formic acid, cyclohexene, ammonia and alcohols, and isomerization of butene

Abstract

The catalytic activities of polynaphthoquinone, containing various metal halides, such as FeCl3, VCl3, MoCl5 and TiCl4, were studied. The polynaphthoquinone was obtained by the oxidation of naphthalene-1,7-diol and successive heat-treatment. The dehydrogenation of formic acid and alcohols occurred in the temperature region 20 to 100°C over both polynaphthoquinone containing FeCl3 and metal free polynaphthoquinone. The selectivity of the dehydrogenation of isopropyl alcohol was characteristically related to the FeCl3 content of the catalyst. The dehydrogenation of cyclohexene at 200°C and the decomposition of ammonia at 300°C were also studied. The catalytic isomerization of cis-but-2-ene to trans-but-2-ene and to but-1-ene in the region 100 to 200°C was markedly affected by the nature and the quantity of the metal halides in the polynaphthoquinone.