*3.1.3. Hydrogenation of benzoic acid with 5% Re/C catalyst*

Hydrogenation of benzoic acid over 5% Re/C is very slow as compared to 5% Ru/C and 5% Pd/C catalysts. The reaction pathway for hydrogenation of benzoic acid over 5% Re/C is also different from that for the other two catalysts as shown in **Scheme 3**. In the literature, ReO<sup>3</sup> is reported to be active for selective hydrogenation of terephthalic acid to p-hydroxymethyl benzoic acid [10]. Conversion of benzoic acid was 6.1%, and selectivity to benzyl alcohol and cyclohexyl methanol was 50% each.
