Intermediates Screening in Ruthenium and Iridium Ions-catalyzed Gas-phase Reaction of Ethanol Converting to Butanol by ICP-MS/MS

The metal ions-catalyzed (Ru+, Ir+) reaction of ethanol converting to butanol have been studied by ICP-MS/MS. The detection of organic small molecule intermediates (acetaldehyde and butyraldehyde) was achieved in both Ru+/C2H5OH and Ir+/C2H5OH systems. Several metal-adduct intermediates were observed in these reactions, improving the understanding of reaction mechanism of ethanol transformation. The possible formation pathways of intermediates were discussed.