Ambient-pressure alkoxycarbonylation for sustainable synthesis of ester.
Nat Commun
; 15(1): 7837, 2024 Sep 07.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39244602
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/NbOx catalyst. The Ru/NbOx 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 mmolestermolCO-1h-1) is achieved. Mechanistic investigations reveal that CO undergoes a methoxycarbonyl (COOCH3) 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 COOCH3 species is observed at 1750 cm-1 (C=O vibration) both experimentally and computationally. The broad substrate applicability of Ru/NbOx 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.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Nat Commun
/
Nature communications
Assunto da revista:
BIOLOGIA
/
CIENCIA
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
China