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Ambient-pressure alkoxycarbonylation for sustainable synthesis of ester.

Authors :
Zhang, Bin
Yuan, Haiyang
Liu, Ye
Deng, Zijie
Douthwaite, Mark
Dummer, Nicholas F.
Lewis, Richard J.
Liu, Xingwu
Luan, Sen
Dong, Minghua
Wang, Tianjiao
Xu, Qingling
Zhao, Zhijuan
Liu, Huizhen
Han, Buxing
Hutchings, Graham J.
Source :
Nature Communications; 9/10/2024, Vol. 15 Issue 1, p1-13, 13p
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

Alkoxycarbonylation reactions are common in the chemical industry, yet process sustainability is limited by the inefficient utilization of CO. In this study, we address this issue and demonstrate that significant improvements can be achieved by adopting a heterogeneously catalyzed process, using a Ru/NbO<subscript>x</subscript> catalyst. The Ru/NbO<subscript>x</subscript> catalyst enables the direct synthesis of methyl propionate, a key industrial commodity, with over 98% selectivity from CO, ethylene and methanol, without any ligands or acid/base promoters. Under ambient CO pressure, a high CO utilization efficiency (336 mmol<subscript>ester</subscript>mol<subscript>CO</subscript><superscript>−1</superscript>h<superscript>−1</superscript>) is achieved. Mechanistic investigations reveal that CO undergoes a methoxycarbonyl (COOCH<subscript>3</subscript>) intermediate pathway, attacking the terminal carbon atom of alkene and yielding linear esters. The origins of prevailing linear regioselectivity in esters are revealed. The infrared spectroscopic feature of the key COOCH<subscript>3</subscript> species is observed at 1750 cm<superscript>−1</superscript> (C=O vibration) both experimentally and computationally. The broad substrate applicability of Ru/NbO<subscript>x</subscript> catalyst for ester production is demonstrated. This process offers a sustainable and efficient approach with high CO utilization and atom economy for the synthesis of esters. Alkoxycarbonylation reactions are widely used in the chemical industry, but their sustainability is often hindered by inefficient CO utilization. Here, the authors tackle the challenge by developing a sustainable and efficient carbonylation process for producing methyl propionate, achieving high CO utilization and regioselectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20411723
Volume :
15
Issue :
1
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Nature Communications
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
179553524
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52163-2