Hydrogenolysis
Hydrogenolysis is a chemical reaction in which a chemical bond is cleaved by molecular hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst. It is distinct from hydrogenation, which adds hydrogen to unsaturated substrates, and from hydrolysis, which cleaves bonds by reaction with water. In practice, hydrogenolysis is typically catalyzed by metals such as palladium, platinum, ruthenium, nickel, or other transition metals supported on carbon or another material, and it often proceeds under hydrogen gas.
Most common hydrogenolysis reactions involve the cleavage of carbon–heteroatom bonds, especially carbon–oxygen (C–O) and carbon–nitrogen (C–N)
In organic synthesis, hydrogenolysis is widely used to remove protecting groups, such as benzyl ethers and
Conditions vary with substrate and catalyst but commonly employ hydrogen at modest pressures and moderate temperatures,