The conversion of trans-ferulic acid to vanillin was achieved by heterogeneous catalysis. HKUST-1 was employed in this synthesis and the essential step in the catalytic process was the generation of unsaturated metal sites. Thus, when the catalyst was activated under vacuum, full vanillin conversion (yield of 95%) was obtained.
Yépez, R., Illescas, J. F., Gijón, P., Sánchez-Sánchez, M., González-Zamora, E., Santillan, R., Álvarez, J. R., Ibarra, I. A., Aguilar-Pliego, J. HKUST-1 as a Heterogeneous Catalyst for the Synthesis of Vanillin. J. Vis. Exp. (113), e54054, doi:10.3791/54054 (2016).