Selective Production of Renewable para‐Xylene by Tungsten Carbide Catalyzed Atom‐Economic Cascade Reactions

Tungsten carbide was employed as the catalyst in an atom‐economic and renewable synthesis of para‐xylene with excellent selectivity and yield from 4‐methyl‐3‐cyclohexene‐1‐carbonylaldehyde (4‐MCHCA). This intermediate is the product of the Diels–Alder reaction between the two readily available bio‐based building blocks acrolein and isoprene. Our results suggest that 4‐MCHCA undergoes a novel dehydroaromatization–hydrodeoxygenation cascade process by intramolecular hydrogen transfer that does not involve an external hydrogen source, and that the hydrodeoxygenation occurs through the direct dissociation of the C=O bond on the W2C surface. Notably, this process is readily applicable to the synthesis of various (multi)methylated arenes from bio‐based building blocks, thus potentially providing a petroleum‐independent solution to valuable aromatic compounds.