An In‐Situ Self‐regeneration Catalyst for the Production of Renewable Penta‐1,3‐diene.

Catalyst deactivation is a problem of great concern for many heterogeneous reactions. Here, an urchin‐like LaPO4 catalyst was easily developed for pentane‐2,3‐diol dehydration; it has an impressive ability to restore the activity in situ by itself during the reaction, accounting for its high stability. This facilitates the efficient production of renewable penta‐1,3‐diene from pentane‐2,3‐dione via a novel approach, where penta‐2,3‐diol was obtained as an intermediate in 95 % yield under mild conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]