Metathesis of 1-alkenes in the liquid phase over a Re2O7/γ-Al2O3 catalyst

The reactivity order of linear 1-alkenes (1 hexene, 1-octene 1-decene) was studied during (co)metathesis over a heterogeneous Re2O7/γ-Al2O3 catalyst under industrial conditions. In self-metathesis the reaction rates decreased with increasing length of the carbon chain. This is thought to be caused by the fact that product desorption is the rate-determining step in the reaction. In cometathesis, however, no differences in reactivity were observed. The product distribution was determined statistically the reaction rate was determined by the differences in rate between the cometathesis and the self-metathesis routes.