A useful, reliable and safer protocol for hydrogenation and the hydrogenolysis of O-benzyl groups: the in situ preparation of an active Pd(0)/C catalyst with well-defined properties.

A simple, highly reproducible protocol for the hydrogenation of alkenes and alkynes and for the hydrogenolysis of O-benzyl ethers has been developed. The method features the in situ preparation of an active Pd(0)/C catalyst from Pd(OAc)(2) and charcoal, in methanol. The mild reaction conditions (25°C) and low catalyst loading required (0.025 mol%), as well as the absence of contamination of the product by palladium residues (<4 ppb), make this a sustainable, useful process for organic chemists. Alternatively, the protocol can be carried out under microwave activation, to shorten the reaction times, with cyclohexene as the hydrogen source.