Cyclohexanol: Phenol Hydrogenated over Nickel, Sabatier 1922

Phenol vapour carried in hydrogen over finely divided nickel at 180 °C takes up hydrogen and becomes cyclohexanol at once (Sabatier and Senderens, 1903). A second pass at 150–170 °C turns the leftover phenol into cyclohexanol too. Cyclohexanol is the starting point for adipic acid and nylon. The picture: our diagram of the nickel tube and the two passes.