Biphenyl Inhibits Stereomutation in Semihydrogenation of 4-Arylbut-2-yn-1-ols

Article abstract of DOI:10.1071/CH9901789

Semihydrogenation of 4-arylbut-2-yn-1-ols in the presence of a quinoline-deactivated palladium catalyst yielded mixtures of (Z)- and (E)-4-arylbut-2-en-1-ols.We find that stereomutation of the initially formed (Z)-alkene product is prevented if biphenyl (10percent of the weight of the alkyne substrate) is included in the reaction mixture.