HYDROGENOLYSIS AND HOMOLOGATION OF LINEAR AND BRANCHED PENTENES ON Ru/SiO2 CATALYSTS: IMPLICATION IN THE MECHANISM OF C-C BOND FORMATION AND CLEAVAGE ON METAL SURFACES.

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/ja00209a043

Hydrogenolysis and homologation of 1-pentene to butenes and hexenes take place simultaneously and at the same rate over a Ru/SiO//2 catalyst at 110 degree C, suggesting that these two reactions are mechanistically related. **1**3C labeling experiments indicate that C-C cleavage occurs at the double bond of 1-pentene-1-**1**3C leading to unlabeled 1-butene and labeled hexenes. The product distribution in the hydrogenolysis of 1-pentene, 2-pentenes, 3-methyl-1-butene, 2-methyl-2-butene, and 2-methyl-1-butene is accounted for by a carbene-olefin mechanism, which can therefore be considered as a reasonable common path for the formation and cleavage of carbon-carbon bonds on metal surfaces.