Effect of the surface area of platinum on the activity of a bifunctional aluminoplatinum catalyst in the synthesis of alkylimidazoles from diamines and carbonyl acids

An investigation has been conducted into the effect of the acid and dehydrogenating functions of an aluminoplatinum catalyst on the synthesis of 2-methylimidazole from ethylenediamine and acetic acid. It has been established that formation of the intermediate 2-methylimidazoline involves the acid Al₂O₃ centers and its rate of formation is greater than the rate of its subsequent dehydrogenation to 2-methylimidazole on the Pt centers. The symbatic nature of the variations in the 2-methylimidazole yield and the surface area of the platinum in the aluminoplatinum catalyst has been demonstrated.N. D. Zelinskii Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117913 Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 1992–1996, September, 1992.