Vinylic acetoxylation

Acetoxylation vinyl acetate synthesis from ethene and acetic acid. 

Other large-volume esters are vinyl acetate [108-05-4] (VAM, 1.15 x 10 t/yr), methyl methacrylate [80-62-6] (MMA, 0.54 x 10 t/yr), and dioctyl phthalate [117-81-7] (DOP, 0.14 x 10 t/yr). VAM (see Vinyl polymers) is produced for the most part by the vapor-phase oxidative acetoxylation of ethylene. MMA (see Methacrylic polymers) and DOP (see Phthalic acids) are produced by direct esterification techniques involving methacryHc acid and phthaHc anhydride, respectively. 

Pd-hydroquinone-mediated electrochemical 1,4-diacetoxylation of cyclohexa-1,3-diene (118), leading to 1,4-diacetoxycyclo-hex-2-ene (119), has been investigated (Scheme 46) [156]. Palladium-catalyzed indirect electrochemical monoacetoxylation of olefins has been attained in an MeCN/Ac0H-NaC104/Ac0Na/Pd(0Ac)2-Cu(OAc)2-(C) system. The acetoxylation of cyclohexene produces unsaturated esters with less current efficiency, giving a 1 1 mixture of allylic and vinylic products [118]. 

The formation of vinyl acetate via the oxidative coupling of ethylene and acetic acid was among the earliest Pd-catalyzed reactions developed (Sect. 2) [19,20]. Subsequent study of this reaction with higher olefins revealed that, in addition to C-2 acetoxylation, allylic acetoxylation occurs to generate products with the acetoxy group at the C-1 and C-3 positions (Scheme 14). The synthetic utihty of these products imderhes the substantial historical interest in these reactions, and both BQ and dioxygen have been used as oxidants. 

Alkenes can be transformed to carbonyl compounds through the oxidation of the vinylic carbon atom. A special case of vinylic oxidation is acetoxylation of alkenes and dienes. 

Vinylic Acetoxylation. When alkenes are treated with Pd(II) compounds in the presence of acetic acid in a nonaqueous medium, acetoxylation takes place.495 498,499,501 503 567"569 Ethylene is converted to vinyl acetate in high yields and with high selectivity with PdCl2568,569 in the presence of added bases (NaOAc,568 Na2HP04569) or with Pd(OAc)2 570... 

The oxidation of 1-alkenes usually gives 2-acetoxy-l-alkenes.571,572 Oxidative acetoxylation of propylene with Pd(OAc)2 may yield allylic or vinylic acetates depending on reaction conditions573 (see Section 9.2.6). 

Pd(H) complexes with strongly electron-withdrawing ligands can insert into the allylic C—H bond (path c) to form directly the Jt-allyl complex via oxidative addi-tion.502,694,697 Pd(OOCCF3)2 in acetic acid, for example, ensures high yields of allylic acetoxylated products.698 The delicate balance between allylic and vinylic acetoxylation was observed to depend on substrate structure, too. For simple terminal alkenes the latter process seems to be the predominant pathway.571... 

Acetoxylation of Alkenes, Dienes and Aromatic Hydrocarbons 61.3.4.3.1 Vinyl acetate from ethytene... 

First discovered by Moiseev et a/.,416 the palladium-catalyzed acetoxylation of ethylene to vinyl acetate has been the subject of very active investigations, particularly in industry, as shown by the considerable number of patents existing in this area. Vinyl acetate is an extremely important petrochemical product which is used for the synthesis of polymers such as poly(vinyl acetate) and poly(vinyl alcohol). Most of its annual production ( 2.6 Mt) results from the acetoxylation of ethylene (equation 160). 

A widely accepted mechanism for acetoxylation of ethylene is shown in equation (161) and consists of the nucleophilic attack of the acetate anion on the coordinated ethylene, followed by acetoxypalladation and /3-hydride elimination, giving vinyl acetate and palladium hydride.367... 

In contrast to ethylene, which gives only vinylic or oxidative addition products, the acetoxylation of higher alkenes results in the formation of a mixture of allylic and vinylic acetates.367 The... 

A somewhat similar catalytic acetoxylation of ethylene to vinyl acetate by 02 has been carried out in acetic acid in the presence of a Pd(OAc)2-pyCo(TPP)N02 system.472 A stoichiometric epoxidation of alkenes such as 1-octene or propene by cobalt-nitro complexes has been shown to occur in the presence of thallium(III) benzoate. Oxygen labeling studies showed that the epoxide oxygen atom comes only from the nitro ligand (equation 197).473... 

Soon after the invention of the Wacker process the formation of vinyl acetate by the oxidative acetoxylation of ethylene using Pd(OAc)2 was discovered by Moiseev [16], and the industrial production of vinyl acetate based on this reation was developed. At present, vinyl acetate is produced commercially by a gas-phase reaction of ethylene, acetic acid and O using Pd catalyst supported on alumina or silica (eq. 1.11). 

The in situ regeneration of Pd(II) from Pd(0) should not be counted as being an easy process, and the appropriate solvents, reaction conditions, and oxidants should be selected to carry out smooth catalytic reactions. In many cases, an efficient catalytic cycle is not easy to achieve, and stoichiometric reactions are tolerable only for the synthesis of rather expensive organic compounds in limited quantities. This is a serious limitation of synthetic applications of oxidation reactions involving Pd(II). However it should be pointed out that some Pd(II)-promoted reactions have been developed as commercial processes, in which supported Pd catalysts are used. For example, vinyl acetate, allyl acetate and 1,4-diacetoxy-2-butene are commercially produced by oxidative acetoxylation of ethylene, propylene and butadiene in gas or liquid phases using Pd supported on silica. It is likely that Pd(OAc)2 is generated on the surface of the catalyst by the oxidation of Pd with AcOH and 02, and reacts with alkenes. 

The industrially important acetoxylation consists of the aerobic oxidation of ethylene into vinyl acetate in the presence of acetic acid and acetate. The catalytic cycle can be closed in the same way as with the homogeneous Wacker acetaldehyde catalyst, at least in the older liquid-phase processes (320). Current gas-phase processes invariably use promoted supported palladium particles. Related fundamental work describes the use of palladium with additional activators on a wide variety of supports, such as silica, alumina, aluminosilicates, or activated carbon (321-324). In the presence of promotors, the catalysts are stable for several years (320), but they deactivate when the palladium particles sinter and gradually lose their metal surface area. To compensate for the loss of acetate, it is continuously added to the feed. The commercially used catalysts are Pd/Cd on acid-treated bentonite (montmorillonite) and Pd/Au on silica (320). 

Acetophenones, aliphatic and cyclic ketones were a-acetoxylated by DIB in acetic acid-acetic anhydride, in the presence of sulphuric acid, in moderate yield some / -diketones were similarly acetoxylated at the methylene carbon. The more reactive trimethylsilyl ethers reacted at room temperature without acid catalysis, with retention of their silyl group the products came either from substitution of the vinylic hydrogen or from bis acetoxylation of the double bond. 

The cyclic vinyl ether (182),170 postulated last year as an intermediate in the 21-acetoxylation of the hemiacetal (183), can be prepared in good yield by heating the hemiacetal with aluminium isopropoxide in toluene under argon, followed by direct chromatography on basic alumina.171 The vinyl ether was converted into the 20,21-diol (184) either by reaction with osmium tetroxide or by acetoxylation with lead tetra-acetate, followed by hydrolysis. The hypoiodite reaction, followed by oxidation, allows direct conversion of a 21-acetoxypregnan-20/3-ol (185) into the 18-iodo-20-ketone (186), which is solvolysed in the presence of silver acetate to provide a new route to the 21-acetate of 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone hemiacetal (187).171... 

Figure 28 shows that the chemistry involved in the Wacker process could in principle be extended to other nucleophiles. The modern catalytic manufacturing process making vinyl acetate from ethylene and acetic acid is based on the observation that palladium catalyzed oxidation of ethylene to acetaldehyde can be converted into an acetoxylation reaction if carried out in a solution of acetic acid and in the presence of sodium acetate (Equation 42). 

Ethylene acetoxylation was also developed as a gas phase process following the liquid phase process and has been in commercial use since 1968. There is a notable difference between the two processes in the liquid phase the presence of palladium salts and redox systems results in the formation of both vinyl acetate and acetaldehyde, whereas in the gas phase process, using palladium metal,... 

Figure 1.4 Schematic of microstructure of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, where the solid line represents the "backbone" of the polymer and dashed lines signify SCB and LCB. Incorporation of VA results in pendant acetoxyl groups.

The enol form of mesitylphenylacetaldehyde, a vinylic alcohol, when dissolved in acetic acid and treated with lead tetraacetate at 40 °C, gives 2-acetoxy-2-mesitylphenylacetaldehyde in 86% yield 1151. The result can be interpreted as the addition of acetoxyls across the enol double bond followed by elimination of one molecule of acetic acid (equation 275),... 

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