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Catalytic Dealkylation of Ethers to Alcohols on Metal Surfaces
Author(s) -
Yang Biao,
Lin Haiping,
Miao Kangjian,
Zhu Pan,
Liang Liangbo,
Sun Kewei,
Zhang Haiming,
Fan Jian,
Meunier Vincent,
Li Youyong,
Li Qing,
Chi Lifeng
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201602414
Subject(s) - alkylation , chemistry , alkyl , catalysis , density functional theory , homogeneous , scanning tunneling microscope , metal , homogeneous catalysis , organic chemistry , computational chemistry , nanotechnology , materials science , thermodynamics , physics
On‐surface synthesis has prompted much interest in recent years because it provides an alternative strategy for controlling chemical reactions and allows for the direct observation of reaction pathways. Herein, we combined scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory to provide extensive evidence for the conversion of alkoxybenzene‐containing ethers into alcohols by means of surface synthesis. The reported dealkylation reactions are finely controlled by the annealing parameters, which govern the onset of successive alkyl chains dissociations. Moreover, density functional theory calculations elucidate the details of the reaction pathways, showing that dealkylation reactions are surface‐assisted and very different from their homogeneous analogues in solution.