Isoprenol
Isoprenol, also known as 3-methylbut-3-en-1-ol, is a hemiterpene alcohol. It is produced industrially as an intermediate to 3-methylbut-2-en-1-ol : global production in 2001 can be estimated as 6–13 thousand tons.
Isoprenol is produced by the reaction between isobutene and formaldehyde.
The thermodynamically preferred isomer with the more substituted double bond cannot be directly formed in this reaction, but isomerization yields the desired product:
The reaction is catalyzed by any species which can form an allyl complex without excessive hydrogenation of the substrate, for example poisoned palladium catalysts.
