Social Benefits: | The catalytic hydrogenation of styrene oxide is feasible with direct use Pd(II) supported catalyst, without prior reduction of Pd(II) to Pd(0), Pd(II) supported catalyst is easy to synthesized which is non pyrophoric, can be stored in air for long (tested for over 1 year) without any noticeable loss in its catalytic performance, The as synthesized catalyst produce very less or no dust as in the case of conventionally used Pd on carbon, The as synthesized catalysts do not require a basic promoter to increase selectivity of 2-phenyl ethanol, The as synthesized catalysts can be directly reused after the first cycle of hydrogenation of styrene oxide by simple decantation of the product from liquid phase without involving any purification/filtration step, The present method yields 2-phenyl ethanol with 98.5% selectivity at total conversion of styrene oxide, The catalyst can be effectively recycled many cycles (tested for 25 cycles) without any significant loss in activity and selectivity. |