Role in catalyst deactivation

The oligomerization of dienes could play an important role in catalyst deactivation. 

The basic sites of AI2O3 have also been proposed to catalyze the Cannizaro reaction of benzaldehyde to benzoic add and benzyl alcohol [94]. The formation of this strongly adsorbed benzoate spedes plays a crucial role in catalyst deactivation, and would not have been possible to detect without in situ ATR-IR spectroscopy. When O2 was introduced into the system, signals corresponding to benzaldehyde and benzoate increased substantially, as shown in spectrum b in Figure 12.9. 

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