Chromium-catalyzed production of diols from olefins

Abstract

Processes for converting an olefin reactant into a diol compound are disclosed, and these processes include the steps of contacting the olefin reactant and a supported chromium catalyst comprising chromium in a hexavalent oxidation state to reduce at least a portion of the supported chromium catalyst to form a reduced chromium catalyst, and hydrolyzing the reduced chromium catalyst to form a reaction product comprising the diol compound. While being contacted, the olefin reactant and the supported chromium catalyst can be irradiated with a light beam at a wavelength in the UV-visible spectrum. Optionally, these processes can further comprise a step of calcining at least a portion of the reduced chromium catalyst to regenerate the supported chromium catalyst.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.