Copper-cobalt based catalysts

Copper-cobalt based catalysts induce a classical chain-growth mechanism (9-11) A heavier alcohol content ranging between 20 and 70 % wt can be obtained under moderate operating conditions. The actual target for scale-up studies is the production of alcohol mixtures containing 35-45 wt % of C (12,13). 

TABLE II METHAWOL-HIGHER ALCOHOLS SYNTHESIS ON COPPER-COBALT BASED CATALYSTS... 

Nonactivated olefins fail to react even under strenuous conditions with cyanide anion catalysis. Due to this lack of reactivity coupled with the inherent desirability of the products, much research has focused on developing catalysts for the hydrocyanation of these nonactivated olefins. This has led to nickel, palladium, copper, and cobalt-based catalysts effective at 25-125°C with or without a solvent. Most were developed for the hydrocyanation of unactivated olefins, but many are equally applicable for oAer olefins. For example, much work has been reported on butadiene hydrocyanation employing all of the catalysts mentioned above except palladium. 

Alkylamines, such as butylamines, can be obtained by direct catalytic amination if the amination reaction is carried out in the presence of a fairly large excess of hydrogen. With specific nickel-, copper-, and cobalt-based catalysts which promote hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions, yields and conversions per pass of better than 95 per cent are obtained. See Sec. V for more detailed information on this procedure. 

Multicomponent metallic hydrogenation catalysts, based on intermetallic compounds (IMC) of rare-earth elements with nickel, copper, cobalt, and other bimetallic systems. Most studies were devoted to two structural systems LnMs and LnMs, where Ln = La, Sm, Gd, Ce, Pr, and Nd and M = Ni (see Klabunovskii, Konenko s group 183,251,252 Compaiison of LnNis catalysts with Ni catalysts supported on oxides of Ln, show higher activities of the IMC s and their hydrides in hydrogenation of propene (100°C, 1 bar), where LaNis proved to be the most active catalyst... 

Cobalt-based catalysts are highly active, although iron may be more suitable for low-H2-content synthesis gases such as those derived from coal due to its promotion of the water-gas-shift reaction. In addition to the active metal, the catalysts typically contain a number of promoters, such as potassium and copper. 

Recent reports of oxidation catalysts based on chemically modified support materials include cobalt, copper and iron. Effective catalysts include cobalt immobilised on silica which has been derivatised with carboxylic acid functions (Scheme 11). ... 

Early catalysts for acrolein synthesis were based on cuprous oxide and other heavy metal oxides deposited on inert siHca or alumina supports (39). Later, catalysts more selective for the oxidation of propylene to acrolein and acrolein to acryHc acid were prepared from bismuth, cobalt, kon, nickel, tin salts, and molybdic, molybdic phosphoric, and molybdic siHcic acids. Preferred second-stage catalysts generally are complex oxides containing molybdenum and vanadium. Other components, such as tungsten, copper, tellurium, and arsenic oxides, have been incorporated to increase low temperature activity and productivity (39,45,46). 

Hydrogenation Catalysts. The key to catalytic hydrogenation is the catalyst, which promotes a reaction which otherwise would occur too slowly to be useful. Catalysts for the hydrogenation of nitro compounds and nitriles are generally based on one or more of the group VIII metals. The metals most commonly used are cobalt, nickel, palladium, platinum, rhodium, and mthenium, but others, including copper (16), iron (17), and tellurium... 

For more selective hydrogenations, supported 5—10 wt % palladium on activated carbon is preferred for reductions in which ring hydrogenation is not wanted. Mild conditions, a neutral solvent, and a stoichiometric amount of hydrogen are used to avoid ring hydrogenation. There are also appHcations for 35—40 wt % cobalt on kieselguhr, copper chromite (nonpromoted or promoted with barium), 5—10 wt % platinum on activated carbon, platinum (IV) oxide (Adams catalyst), and rhenium heptasulfide. Alcohol yields can sometimes be increased by the use of nonpolar (nonacidic) solvents and small amounts of bases, such as tertiary amines, which act as catalyst inhibitors. 

Silver-containing catalysts are used exclusively in all commercial ethylene oxide units, although the catalyst composition may vary considerably (129). Nonsdver-based catalysts such as platinum, palladium, chromium, nickel, cobalt, copper ketenide, gold, thorium, and antimony have been investigated, but are only of academic interest (98,130—135). Catalysts using any of the above metals either have very poor selectivities for ethylene oxide production at the conversion levels required for commercial operation, or combust ethylene completely at useful operating temperatures. 

Two classes of metals have been examined for potential use as catalytic materials for automobile exhaust control. These consist of some of the transitional base metal series, for instance, cobalt, copper, chromium, nickel, manganese, and vanadium and the precious metal series consisting of platinum [7440-06-4], Pt palladium [7440-05-3], Pd rhodium [7440-16-6], Rh iridium, [7439-88-5], Ir and mthenium [7440-18-8], Ru. Specific catalyst activities are shown in Table 3. 

The relatively high cost and lack of domestic supply of noble metals has spurred considerable efforts toward the development of nonnoble metal catalysts for automobile exhaust control. A very large number of base metal oxides and mixtures of oxides have been considered, especially the transition metals, such as copper, chromium, nickel, manganese, cobalt vanadium, and iron. Particularly prominent are the copper chromites, which are mixtures of the oxides of copper and chromium, with various promoters added. These materials are active in the oxidation of CO and hydrocarbons, as well as in the reduction of NO in the presence of CO (55-59). Rare earth oxides, such as lanthanum cobaltate and lanthanum lead manganite with Perovskite structure, have been investigated for CO oxidation, but have not been tested and shown to be sufficiently active under realistic and demanding conditions (60-63). Hopcalities are out-... 

Recently, great advancement has been made in the use of air and oxygen as the oxidant for the oxidation of alcohols in aqueous media. Both transition-metal catalysts and organocatalysts have been developed. Complexes of various transition-metals such as cobalt,31 copper [Cu(I) and Cu(II)],32 Fe(III),33 Co/Mn/Br-system,34 Ru(III and IV),35 and V0P04 2H20,36 have been used to catalyze aerobic oxidations of alcohols. Cu(I) complex-based catalytic aerobic oxidations provide a model of copper(I)-containing oxidase in nature.37 Palladium complexes such as water-soluble Pd-bathophenanthroline are selective catalysts for aerobic oxidation of a wide range of alcohols to aldehydes, ketones, and carboxylic acids in a biphasic... 

While cobalt and rhodium have been the focus of most research and are the metals of choice for commercial hydroformylation reactions, numerous other metals have been disclosed as catalysts in the patent literature. However, only some of the carbonyl-forming metals can be seriously considered. Even of these, a comparison of relative reactivity (118) based on cobalt as the standard indicates a decided preference for only two or three metals. This listing may be considered incomplete without the inclusion of platinum and copper, which have recently received significant attention (vide infra). 

Meanwhile, Wacker Chemie developed the palladium-copper-catalyzed oxidative hydration of ethylene to acetaldehyde. In 1965 BASF described a high-pressure process for the carbonylation of methanol to acetic acid using an iodide-promoted cobalt catalyst (/, 2), and then in 1968, Paulik and Roth of Monsanto Company announced the discovery of a low-pressure carbonylation of methanol using an iodide-promoted rhodium or iridium catalyst (J). In 1970 Monsanto started up a large plant based on the rhodium catalyst. 

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