Catalytic methanol carbonylation iridium-complex

SCHEME 13 Catalytic cycles for iridium-complex-catalyzed methanol carbonylation and WGS reaction. Adapted with permission from reference [115], copyright 1979, Royal Society of Chemistry. 

Mechanistic Pathways in the Catalytic Carbonylation of Methanol by Rhodium and Iridium Complexes... 

The rate of the methanol carbonylation reaction in the presence of iridium catalysts is very similar to that observed in the presence of rhodium catalysts under comparable conditions (29). This is perhaps initially surprising in view of the well-recognized greater nucleophilicity of iridium(I) complexes as compared to their rhodium(I) analogues. It can be seen from the above studies that the difference in the chemistry of the metals at the trivalent stage of the catalytic cycle serves to produce faster rates of alkyl migration with the rhodium system thus, overall the two metal catalysts give comparable rates. 

The commercialisation of an iridium-based process is the most significant new development in methanol carbonylation catalysis in recent years. Originally discovered by Monsanto, iridium catalysts were considered uncompetitive relative to rhodium on the basis of lower activity, as often found for third row transition metals. The key breakthrough for achieving high catalytic rates for an iridium catalyst was the identification of effective promoters. Recent mechanistic studies have provided detailed insight into how the promoters influence the subtle balance between neutral and anionic iridium complexes in the catalytic cycle, thereby enhancing catalytic turnover. 

Mechanistic Pathways for Ligand Substitution Processes in Metal Carbonyls, 21, 113 Mechanistic Pathways in the Catalytic Carbonylation of Methanol by Rhodium and Iridium Complexes, 17, 255... 

Carbonylation of organic substrates was investigated using these well defined complexes. These carbonyl compounds exhibited catalytic properties in the carbonylation of organic substrates. In particular methanol carbonylation to methyl acetate in the gas phase was successfully attempted. Mechanistic and kinetic studies of this reaction over rhodium and iridium zeolites showed the similarities between the homogeneous and the zeolite mediated reactions. Aromatic ni-tro compounds were also converted to aromatic isocyanates using similar catalytic systems. The mechanistic aspect of this reaction will be also examined. 

The reaction of divalent metals, such as copper, nickel, and so on, with dioxetanes in methanol leads to clean catalytic decomposition into carbonyl fragments/ The reaction rates increase with increasing Lewis acidity of the divalent metal and indicate, therefore, typical electrophilic cleavage of the dioxetane. On the other hand, univalent rhodium and iridium complexes catalyze the decomposition of dioxetanes into carbonyl fragments via oxidative addition. 

The Ir-catalyzed methanol carbonylation reaction has been studied extensively by several groups 9f-h. The mechanism for the reaction is more complex than for the Rh reaction. The reaction involves a neutral and an anionic catalytic cycle. The extent of participation by each cycle depends on the reaction conditions. The anionic carbonylation pathway predominates in the Cativa process. The active Ir catalyst species is the iridium carbonyl iodide complex, [Ir(CO)2l2]. The carbonylation reaction proceeds through a series of reaction steps similar to the Rh catalyst process shown in Figure 1 however, the kinetics involve a different rate determining step. 

The efficacy of an iridium/iodide catalyst for methanol carbonylation was discovered by Monsanto at the same time as their development of the process using the rhodium/iodide catalyst [5]. Mechanistic investigations by Forster employing in situ HPIR spectroscopy revealed additional complexity compared to the rhodium system [115]. In particular, the carbonylation rate and catalyst speciation were found to show a more complicated dependence on process variables, and three distinct regimes of catalyst behavior were identified. At relatively low concentrations of Mel, H20, and ionic iodide, a neutral iridium (I) complex [Ir(CO)sI] was found to dominate, and the catalytic reaction was inhibited by increasing the CO partial pressure. Addition of small amounts of a quaternary ammonium iodide salt caused the dominant iridium species to become an Ir(III) methyl complex, [Ir(CO)2l3Me]. Under these conditions, the rate... 

The commercial processes for methanol carbonylation discussed above all employ homogeneous rhodium complex or iridium complex catalysts that require an iodide cocatalyst. The highly corrosive nature of acidic iodide-containing solutions and the costly product separation steps mean that catalytic process that avoid these problems are potentially attractive,... 

Among the most studied dicarbonyl iridium(l) complexes are the anionic [IrX2(GO)2] (X = G1 141a, Br, 141b, I 141c) due to their implications in catalytic processes such as methanol carbonylation See for example Refs 72, 72a-72g. vide infra), both from experimental and theoretical viewpoint, as for derivatives such as tfr-[Ir(GO)2(py)2]PF6 142 which was found to catalyze the WGS reaction. " From the synthetic point of view, it is worth mentioning here a few examples of systems derived from [IrX2(GO)2] ... 

Detailed mechanistic and theoretical analysis of the key mechanistic steps of the Cativa process, for the Cativa process See Ref 257,257a that is, the iridium-based catalytic carbonylation of methanol to acetic acid, have allowed several groups, " particularly Haynes and co-workers, to unravel the mechanism of the catalytic process. Ir(l) complexes [Ir(CO)(L-L)I] (LL = dppms, dppe, dppmo) provided important mechanistic information about the influence of stereoelectronic ligand effects on the organometallic reactivity of modified metal centers with Mel. The carbonylation of methanol promoted by iridium and rhodium complexes which is at the basis of both Cativa and Monsanto processes for the synthesis of acetic acid will be described in detail in a different chapter of this volume. 

Reaction (78) regenerates Mel from methanol and HI. Using a high-pressure IR cell at 0.6 MPa, complex (95) was found to be the main species present under catalytic conditions, and the oxidative addition of Mel was therefore assumed to be the rate determining step. The water-gas shift reaction (equation 70) also occurs during the process, causing a limited loss of carbon monoxide. A review of the cobalt-, rhodium- and iridium-catalyzed carbonylation of methanol to acetic acid is available.415... 

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