Highly selective palladium supported catalyst for hydrogenation of phenol in aqueous phase

Hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanone in aqueous phase, under mild conditions, has been carried out using palladium on different supports such as hydroxyapatite (HA), carbon (C), alumina (γ-Al2O3) and Al2O3 -CWE synthesized with high surface area. High activity (100%) and selectivity (98%) to cyclohexanone was obtained using Pd/ Al2O3 -CWE catalyst in 50min under mild reaction conditions.