Selective hydrogenation of single benzene ring in biphenyl catalyzed by skeletal Ni

Abstract

The nickel lining on a Raney day: Highly selective catalytic hydrogenation of biphenyl (BP) to cyclohexylbenzene (CHB) was achieved by using skeletal Ni prepared from rapidly quenched Ni-Al alloys ribbons, affording 100% conversion and 99.4% selectivity in a one-pot reaction. © 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH& Co. KGaA, Weinheim.