# Microwave-Assisted Deoxygenation of Substituted Aromatic Ketones over Commercial Pd/Al2O3 under Mild Conditions

## TL;DR

This paper presents a method for converting aromatic ketones into alcohols and alkyl chains using microwave-assisted reactions under mild conditions.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel microwave-enhanced deoxygenation method using commercial Pd/Al2O3 under mild conditions.

## Key findings

- Microwave-assisted deoxygenation occurs under 120 °C and 5 bar H2 in 2 hours.
- Ethanol is the optimal solvent for the reaction.
- Keto–enol tautomerization and hydrogenolysis are key steps in the proposed mechanism.

## Abstract

Herein, a study on the deoxygenation of substituted aromatic
ketones
over commercial Pd/Al2O3 (5 wt %) is reported.
The reaction occurs under very mild conditions (120 °C, 5 bar
H2) in just 2 h using microwaves to enhance the kinetics.
Ethanol was found to be the best solvent, while the effect of the
substituents was studied over different substrates. On the basis of
experimental evidence, a mechanism is proposed in which keto–enol
tautomerization enables deoxygenation to the corresponding alcohol
followed by direct hydrogenolysis to the alkyl chain.