Scientists draw unified picture of alcohol's interactions with early transition metal oxide catalysts
(Phys.org) —Based on 8 years of study, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the University of Alabama described in exquisite detail how alcohols behave on two early transition metal catalysts, molybdenum trioxide and tungsten trioxide, in a 17-page article in Chemical Society Reviews. All the catalysts were prepared using an innovative method introduced at PNNL that allows for the preparation of monodispersed catalytic clusters of identical size and structure. Such model systems can be utilized by scientists needing a structurally well-known material. The review provides a detailed discussion of the reaction mechanisms of these prepared catalysts for dehydration, dehydrogenation, and condensation reactions of small aliphatic, or open chain, alcohols.