Copper complexes acetylene

The reactors were thick-waked stainless steel towers packed with a catalyst containing copper and bismuth oxides on a skiceous carrier. This was activated by formaldehyde and acetylene to give the copper acetyUde complex that functioned as the tme catalyst. Acetylene and an aqueous solution of formaldehyde were passed together through one or more reactors at about 90—100°C and an acetylene partial pressure of about 500—600 kPa (5—6 atm) with recycling as required. Yields of butynediol were over 90%, in addition to 4—5% propargyl alcohol. 

Secondary acetylenic alcohols are prepared by ethynylation of aldehydes higher than formaldehyde. Although copper acetyUde complexes will cataly2e this reaction, the rates are slow and the equiUbria unfavorable. The commercial products are prepared with alkaline catalysts, usually used in stoichiometric amounts. 

Acetylene is condensed with carbonyl compounds to give a wide variety of products, some of which are the substrates for the preparation of families of derivatives. The most commercially significant reaction is the condensation of acetylene with formaldehyde. The reaction does not proceed well with base catalysis which works well with other carbonyl compounds and it was discovered by Reppe (33) that acetylene under pressure (304 kPa (3 atm), or above) reacts smoothly with formaldehyde at 100°C in the presence of a copper acetyUde complex catalyst. The reaction can be controlled to give either propargyl alcohol or butynediol (see Acetylene-DERIVED chemicals). 2-Butyne-l,4-diol, its hydroxyethyl ethers, and propargyl alcohol are used as corrosion inhibitors. 2,3-Dibromo-2-butene-l,4-diol is used as a flame retardant in polyurethane and other polymer systems (see Bromine compounds Elame retardants). 

The ease with which olefins form complexes with metals naturally led to investigation of acetylenes as ligands but until recent years only a few ill-defined, unstable acetylene complexes of copper and silver were known. Now complexes of acetylenes with metals of the chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, and copper subgroups are known. These complexes fall naturally into two classes—those in which the structure of the acetylene is essentially retained and those in which the acetylene is changed into another ligand during complex formation. Complexes of the first class are discussed here and the second class is discussed in Section VI. 

Thus only two of the copper atoms are bonded to the trimethylphosphincs and each phenylethynyl group appears to be associated with three copper atoms. The four copper atoms of the tetramer lie approximately in the same plane. When the acetylide Cu-C C-Ph is heated with acetic acid the complex Cu2CioH802 is obtained (201). This is probably an acetylenic complex (XLI R — Cu), since an analogous complex (XLI R = Ph) is ob-... 

Organic compounds having labile hydrogens, such as phenols [41,42], phenylene-diamines [43], and acetylenes [44], can be oxidatively coupled in the presence of specific metal complexes to form polymeric compounds. The oxidative polymerization of 2,6-disubstituted phenols with a copper-amine complex produces poly(2,6-disubstituted phenylene ether) [45-51], Poly(2,6-dimethylphenylene ether) and poly(2,6-diphenylphenylene ether) are commercially produced from 2,6-dimethyl phenol and 2,6-diphenylphenol, respectively (Figure 5). These polymers exhibit excellent performance as engineering plastics. 

Copper chloride complexes can be used as catalysts in a number of organic reactions. Examples include the Wacker process, which is the oxidization of ethylene to acetaldehyde by oxygen and aqueous Cu and Pd precatalysts (or, alternatively using iron catalysts) plus the synthesis of acrylonitrile from acetylene and hydrogen cyanide using CuCl. Cuprous chloride has also been used as a desulfiuizmg and... 

In the presence of copper acetylide complexes, the reaction of aldehydes with acetylene and secondary amines (eq. (2)) leads to propargylamines [6]. In contrast to the synthesis of butynediol, this reaction is catalyzed homogeneously. 

Copper (I) complexes of olefins have been less widely studied but have been found to be analogous to silver(I) complexes in several ways. It was shown 54>, that solid cuprous chloride absorbed ethylene, propylene and isobutylene and solid cuprous bromide absorbed ethylene to give 1 1 complexes, while diole-fms (butadiene and isoprene) and acetylenes were reported S6> to form complexes with a 2 I copper olefin (or acetylene) stoichiometry. Andrews and... 

In olefin and acetylene complexes of transition metals, in contrast to those of silver(I) and possibly copper(I), the 7r-component of the co-ordinate bond is considered to predominate over the o-component. This has been inferred from the large shifts in nc=c on co-ordination of the unsaturated ligands. Olefins on co-ordination to platinum and palladium show a decrease in vc=c of 140 cm-1 and 120 cm-1 respectively acetylenes, on the other hand, show decrease of 250 cm-1 and 400-575 cm-1 on co-ordination to platinum(II) and platinum (0) respectively ls2h... 

The Reppe process is a method that was developed in the 1940s and typical manufacturers include BASF, Ashland, and Invista. Cu-Bi catalyst supported on silica is used to prepare the 1,4-butynediol by reacting formaldehyde and acetylene at 0.5 MPa and 90-110 C (Eq. (10.2)). The copper used in the reaction is converted to copper(I) acetylide, and the copper complex reacts with the additional acetylene to form the active catalyst. The role of bismuth is to inhibit the formation of water-soluble acetylene polymers (i.e., cuprenes) from the oligomeric acetylene complexes on the catalyst [5a]. The hydrogenation of 1,4-butynediol is accom-pUshed through the use of Raney Ni catalyst to produce 1,4-butanediol (Eq. (10.3)). The total yield of 1,4-butanediol production is 91% from acetylene [5b]. Since acetylene is a highly explosive compound, careful process control is necessary. 

A selective method for determining thiocyanide is based on the quantitative formation of the dithiocyanatodipyridine-copper(ii) complex and its extraction into chloroform. The organic layer is sprayed into an air-acetylene flame and the copper signal at 324.7 nm is measured (detection limit 0.2 mg SCN"1" ). However, the aspiration of chloroform solution into the flame is not recommended since toxic combustion products may be formed. Hence, the organic phase should be evaporated almost to dryness, diluted with ethyl acetate, and the copper atomic signal measured as above (detection limit 0.05 mg SCN 1" ). 

Some organometallic copper compounds are polymeric, such as phenylcopper, which possesses -Cu-Ph-Cu-chains, some acetylene complexes, etc. 

In the first method a secondary acetylenic bromide is warmed in THF with an equivalent amount of copper(I) cyanide. We found that a small amount of anhydrous lithium bromide is necessary to effect solubilization of the copper cyanide. Primary acetylenic bromides, RCECCH Br, under these conditions afford mainly the acetylenic nitriles, RCsCCHjCsN (see Chapter VIII). The aqueous procedure for the allenic nitriles is more attractive, in our opinion, because only a catalytic amount of copper cyanide is required the reaction of the acetylenic bromide with the KClV.CuCN complex is faster than the reaction with KCN. Excellent yields of allenic nitriles can be obtained if the potassium cyanide is added at a moderate rate during the reaction. Excess of KCN has to be avoided, as it causes resinifi-cation of the allenic nitrile. In the case of propargyl bromide 1,1-substitution may also occur, but the propargyl cyanide immediately isomerizes under the influence of the potassium cyanide. 

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