Benzyl alcohol, biphasic carbonylation

The Boots Hoechst Celanese (BHC) ibuprofen process involves palladium-catalyzed carbonylation of a benzylic alcohol (IBPE). More recently, we performed this reaction in an aqueous biphasic system using Pd/tppts as the catalyst (Figure 9.6 tppts = triphenylphosphinetrisulfonate). This process has the advantage of easy removal of the catalyst, resulting in less contamination of the product. 

In the same way, the biphasic carbonylation of benzyl alcohol (Figure 9.7) was achieved.Phenylacetic acid was obtained in 11% yield, 100% selectivity, and 100% atom utilization. 

Carbonylation of Alcohols - Pd(tppts)3 catalyses the carbonylation of benzylic alcohols to the corresponding phenylacetic acids, in the presence of a Bronsted acid cocatalyst such as H2S04 or p-CH3C6H4S03H in biphasic aqueous/organic media (no organic solvent).305,451 For example, benzyl alcohol was converted to phenylacetic acid (Equation 6) and l-(4-isobutylphenyl)ethanol (IBPE) to ibuprofen (Figure 9). 

The salt production can be circumvented by performing the selective Pd/ tppts-catalysed carbonylation of benzyl alcohol in an acidic aqueous biphasic system (Fig. 1.36) [106]. This methodology was also applied to the synthesis of ibuprofen (see earlier) by biphasic carbonylation of l-(4-isobutylphenyl)ethanol [107] and to the biphasic hydrocarboxylation of olefins [108]. 

---