Characterization of strong solid bases by test reactions

The isomerization of 2,3-dimethylbut-1-ene and the decomposition of 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol were carried out over a number of solid base catalysts. Rubidium amide supported on alumina was the most active for the isomerization, which proceeds almost to the equilibrium in 10 min at 201 K. The isomerization is a very useful test reaction for determining the relative activities of very strong solid bases. However, weak solid bases such as K⁺-exchanged Y zeolite are totally inactive for the isomerization. The decomposition of 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol is a suitable reaction to discriminate acidic and basic catalysts. It can be also used for estimating the basic property of weak bases such as lithium hydroxide supported on alumina. However, caution is necessary for strongly basic catalysts because of strong adsorption of the products, acetylene and acetone.