Ceria as Water-tolerant Lewis Acidic Catalyst in Hydrolysis Reaction

We found that ceria is an excellent catalyst in hydrolysis of 4-methyl-1,3-dioxane to 1,3-butanediol with 95% yield and in one-pot synthesis of 1,3-butanediol from propylene and formaldehyde via Prins condensation and hydrolysis reactions with overall 60% yield. In-depth investigations reveal that ceria is water-tolerant Lewis acidic catalyst, which is seldom known previously.