Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 19, 2026

Heterogeneous Removal of Water-Soluble Ruthenium Olefin Metathesis Catalyst from Aqueous Media Via Host-Guest Interaction
Published on: August 23, 2018
Intermolecular Interaction-Facilitated Unimolecular Dehydration of Cyclohexanol on Rutile TiO2(110) Surface
Zichen Li1, Zongfang Wu2, Xuefeng Cui2
1State Key Laboratory of Precision and Intelligent Chemistry, iChEM, Key Laboratory of Surface and Interface Chemistry and Energy Catalysis of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Department of Chemical Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Alcohol dehydration reactions on oxide catalysts serve one of the foundational reactions in biomass valorization and fine chemical synthesis. The dehydration mechanism has been established as the unimolecular pathway (E1 and E1cb) or bimolecular cooperation pathway (E2). Herein, via a combined experimental and theoretical study of cyclohexanol dehydration reaction on the rutile TiO2(110) surface, we unravel an interesting intermolecular interaction-facilitated unimolecular dehydration mechanism (termed as E1d), in which one cyclohexanol molecule of a molecularly-adsorbed dimer at the five-coordinated Ti sites undergoes dehydration to produce cyclohexene while the other cyclohexanol molecule molecularly desorbs simultaneously. Such an E1d dehydration mechanism of complex alcohol molecules on oxide catalysts highlights the critical role of intermolecular interactions in modulating the configuration and consequently dehydration activity of adsorbed alcohol molecules.
Related Concept Videos
Alkenes via Reductive Coupling of Aldehydes or Ketones: McMurry Reaction
Acid-Catalyzed Dehydration of Alcohols to Alkenes
Aldehydes and Ketones with Water: Hydrate Formation
The formation of hydrates is a reversible reaction. Hydrate formation is influenced by steric and electronic factors accompanying the alkyl substituents on the carbonyl group: The rate of hydrate formation increases with a decrease in the number of alkyl groups attached to the carbonyl carbon. Hence,...
Regioselectivity and Stereochemistry of Acid-Catalyzed Hydration
Alkynes to Aldehydes and Ketones: Acid-Catalyzed Hydration
Analogous to alkenes, alkynes also undergo acid-catalyzed hydration. While the addition of water to an alkene gives an alcohol, hydration of alkynes produces different products such as aldehydes and ketones.
Cycloaddition Reactions: MO Requirements for Thermal Activation

