Abstract Catalytic dimerization of 1-butene by a variety of catalysts is carried out, and the products are analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. Catalysts based on cobalt and iron can produce highly linear dimers, with the cobalt-based dimers exceeding 97% linearity. Catalysts based on vanadium and aluminum prefer to make branched dimers, which are most often methyl-heptenes in the case of vanadium and almost exclusively 2- ...