Rhenium-Catalyzed Deoxydehydration of Diols and Polyols

The substitution of platform chemicals of fossil origin by biomass-derived analogues requires the development of chemicaltransformations capable of reducing the very high oxygen contentof biomass. One such reaction, which has received increasingattention within the past five years, is the heniumcatalyzeddeoxydehydration (DODH) of a vicinal diol into analkene; this is a model system for abundant polyols like glyceroland sugar alcohols. The present contribution includesa review of early investigations of stoichiometric reactions involvingrhenium, diols, and alkenes followed by a discussion ofthe various catalytic systems that have been developed withemphasis on the nature of the reductant, the substrate scope,and mechanistic investigations.