Upgrading ethanol to 1-butanol with a homogeneous air-stable ruthenium catalyst

Abstract

An amide-derived N,N,N-Ru(ii) complex catalyzes the conversion of EtOH to 1-BuOH with high activity. Conversion to alcohol upgraded products exceeds 250 turnovers per hour (>50% conversion) with 0.1 mol% catalyst loading. In addition to high activity for ethanol upgrading, catalytic reactions can be set up under ambient conditions with no loss in activity.