Preparing high ratio of trans/trans 2,2-bis(4-hydroxycyclohexyl)propane isomer by one-dimensional nickel-palladium catalyst

Background: 4,4′-isopropylidenediphenol (BPA) hydrogenated to 2,2-bis(4-hydroxycyclohexyl) propane (HBPA) is a simple way to reduce its toxicity and environmental impact. In addition, the higher trans/trans HBPA moiety in polymer will has better mechanical properties. Therefore, how to prepare trans/trans HBPA via hydrogenation is an important issue. Method: One-dimensional nickel-palladium catalyst was successfully synthesized via reduction by an external magnetic field. The high ratio of trans/trans HBPA was characterized by FTIR, GC/MS, and NMR, respectively. The adsorption behavior of BPA and its half-hydrogenated intermediates was studied by Material Studio software. Significant findings: The pd nanoparticles immobilized on the magnetization of 1-D Ni catalyst with high amount of Ni(111) plane is the novelty of this research. The conversion of BPA was high to 100% and the ratio of trans/trans HBPA was over than 75% at 180 °C and 70 kgf/cm2 in isopropanol medium. The trans/trans ratio of HBPA was slightly increasing as increasing hydrogen pressure and decreasing reaction temperature. Reaction intermediate was selected with the aid of molecular simulation. Moreover, the reaction path of BPA hydrogenated by one-dimensional nickel-palladium catalyst was proposed that BPA was firstly hydrogenated to tetrahydro intermediate and followed roll-over mechanism to obtain trans/trans HBPA product.