Hydrogenation of carboxylic acids with a homogeneous cobalt catalyst

Abstract

A direct route from acids to alcohols Making alcohols via hydrogen addition to C=O bonds is among the most widely applied reactions in chemistry. The transformation has also garnered renewed interest for generating commodity chemicals from biomass. Korstanje et al. now show that a cobalt compound can catalyze hydrogenation of the C=O bonds in carboxylic acids. These constitute a particularly challenging substrate class, given the propensity of many other catalysts to degrade under acidic conditions. The cobalt catalyst tolerates a versatile substrate range, and the Earth abundance of the metal bodes well for long-term utility. Science , this issue p. 298