Epoxidation molybdenum catalysts

ARCO has developed a coproduct process which produces KA along with propylene oxide [75-56-9] (95—97). Cyclohexane is oxidized as in the high peroxide process to maximize the quantity of CHHP. The reactor effluent then is concentrated to about 20% CHHP by distilling off unreacted cyclohexane and cosolvent tert-huty alcohol [75-65-0]. This concentrate then is contacted with propylene [115-07-1] in another reactor in which the propylene is epoxidized with CHHP to form propylene oxide and KA. A molybdenum catalyst is employed. The product ratio is about 2.5 kg of KA pet kilogram of propylene oxide. 

After epoxidation, propylene oxide, excess propylene, and propane are distilled overhead. Propane is purged from the process propylene is recycled to the epoxidation reactor. The bottoms Hquid is treated with a base, such as sodium hydroxide, to neutralize the acids. Acids in this stream cause dehydration of the 1-phenylethanol to styrene. The styrene readily polymerizes under these conditions (177—179). Neutralization, along with water washing, allows phase separation such that the salts and molybdenum catalyst remain in the aqueous phase (179). Dissolved organics in the aqueous phase ate further recovered by treatment with sulfuric acid and phase separation. The organic phase is then distilled to recover 1-phenylethanol overhead. The heavy bottoms are burned for fuel (180,181). 

Epoxidation of propylene with ethylbenzene hydroperoxide is carried out at approximately 130°C and 35 atmospheres in presence of molybdenum catalyst. A conversion of 98% on the hydroperoxide has been reported ... 

The use of molybdenum catalysts in combination with hydrogen peroxide is not so common. Nevertheless, there are a number of systems in which molybdates have been employed for the activation of hydrogen peroxide. A catalytic amount of sodium molybdate in combination with monodentate ligands (e.g., hexaalkyl phosphorus triamides or pyridine-N-oxides), and sulfuric acid allowed the epoxidation of simple linear or cyclic olefins [46]. The selectivity obtained by this method was quite low, and significant amounts of diol were formed, even though highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide (>70%) was employed. 

The formation of molybdenum complexes with diols (formed by olefin oxidation) was proved for the use of the molybdenum catalysts. Therefore, the participation of these complexes in the developed epoxidation reaction was assumed [242]. 

SCHEME 79. Asymmetric epoxidation of olefins by TBHP catalyzed by a molybdenum catalyst in the presence of chiral diols... 

TBHP and the molybdenum catalysts are soluble in imidazohiun-based RTlLs. The system becomes biphasic when the olefinic substrate is added. In all cases, the TOFs of the catalytic reactions are considerably lower with the ionic solvent than when performed without the ionic solvent (data reported in Table 9). This slower catalytic reaction may be due to dilution effects and phase transfer problems, especially with the olefin, which is quite insoluble in the RTIL. The conversion appears to be strongly temperature-dependent, as decreasing the temperature from 55 °C to 35 °C reduces the conversion by ca. 50% (entries 7 and 8, Table 9). With the dioxomolybdenum complexes 1 and 2, the epoxidation reaction proceeds with 100% selectivity (Table 9), whereas some diol is formed with the catalyst 3. 

A unique titanium(IV)-silica catalyst prepared by impregnating silica with TiCLt or organotitanium compounds exhibits excellent properties with selectivities comparable to the best homogeneous molybdenum catalysts.285 The new zeolite-like catalyst titanium silicalite (TS-1) featuring isomorphous substitution of Si(IV) with Ti(IV) is a very efficient heterogeneous catalyst for selective oxidations with H2C>2.184,185 It exhibits remarkable activities and selectivities in epoxidation of simple olefins.188,304-306 Propylene, for instance, was epoxidized304 with 97% selectivity at 90% conversion at 40°C. Shape-selective epoxidation of 1- and 2-hexenes was observed with this system that failed to catalyze the transformation of cyclohexene.306 Surface peroxotitanate 13 is suggested to be the active spe-... 

Solvent Effect. The effect of solvent when using an organic soluble molybdenum catalyst is shown in Table IV. Nonpolar solvents such as benzene and methylcyclohexane give higher conversions and yields than polar solvents such as ethyl alcohol and tert-butyl alcohol. Acetone is an especially poor solvent. The low conversion is caused by competition between the solvent and hydroperoxide for molybdenum catalyst. The poor yield of epoxide is primarily caused by hydroperoxide decomposition... 

The molybdenum-hydroperoxide complex (Step 3) reacts with the olefin in the rate-determining step to give the epoxide, alcohol, and molybdenum catalyst. This mechanism explains the first-order kinetic dependence on olefin, hydroperoxide, and catalyst, the enhanced reaction rate with increasing substitution of electron-donating groups around the double bond, and the stereochemistry of the reaction. 

A major improvement consisting of the continuous removal of the water (introduced with H202 and coproduced during the reaction) by azeotropic distillation considerably increased the yield of the epoxidation reaction (equation 32).176 Under anhydrous conditions, molybdenum catalysts were found to be superior to tungsten catalysts, as expected by the comparative stoichiometric reactivity of Mo05 and WO5 complexes. 

Since the epoxidation step involves no formal change in the oxidation state of the metal catalyst, there is no reason why catalytic activity should be restricted to transition metal complexes. Compounds of nontransition elements which are Lewis acids should also be capable of catalyzing epoxidations. In fact, Se02, which is roughly as acidic as Mo03, catalyzes these reactions.433 It is, however, significantly less active than molybdenum, tungsten, and titanium catalysts. Similarly, boron compounds catalyze these reactions but they are much less effective than molybdenum catalysts 437,438 The low activity of other metal catalysts, such as Th(IV) and Zr(IV) (which are weak oxidants) is attributable to their weak Lewis acidity. 

Rouchaud and co-workers492 494 studied the liquid phase oxidation of propylene in the presence of insoluble silver, molybdenum, tungsten, and vanadium catalysts. Moderate yields of propylene oxide were obtained in the presence of molybdenum catalysts. These reactions almost certainly proceed via the initial formation of alkyl hydroperoxides, followed by epoxidation of the propylene by a Mo(VI)-hydroperoxide complex (see preceding section). 

A homogeneous catalytic process, developed by Oxirane, uses a molybdenum catalyst that epoxidizes propylene by transferring an oxygen atom from tertiary butyl hydroperoxide. This is shown by 8.28. The hydroperoxide is obtained by the auto-oxidation of isobutane. The co-product of propylene oxide, /-butanol, finds use as an antiknock gasoline additive. It is also used in the synthesis of methyl /-butyl ether, another important gasoline additive. The over-... 

Two variations of the process are used, the only essential difference being the catalyst employed in the epoxidation step. In the Arco (Atlantic Richfield) process a homogeneous molybdenum catalyst is used. The Shell process employs a heterogeneous titanium/silica catalyst. 

The high proportion of axial attack on methylenecyclohexanes in epoxidation with peracids compared to peracid imides (see Section 4.5.1.1.3.) seems to indicate that the transition state of the peracid imide epoxidation is more crowded104-105 a similar, but somewhat less marked effect is observed in the epoxidation of 5-cholesten-3/ -ol (Table 3) with peracid imides and sterically demanding epoxidation reagents, such as (in situ generated) dimethyldioxirane (Table 3, entry 13 Table 4, entry 21), hydrogen peroxide/tungsten catalyst (Table 4, entry 16) or ferf-butyl hydroperoxide/molybdenum catalyst (Table 4, entries 14, 15). 

Thiiranes can be prepared directly from alkenes using specialized reagents. Thiourea with a tin catalyst gives the thiirane, for example. " Interestingly, internal alkynes were converted to 1,2-dichorothiiranes by reaction with S2CI2 (sulfur monochloride).It is noted that epoxides are converted to thiiranes with ammonium thiocyanate and a cerium complex. " A trans-thiiration reaction occurs with a molybdenum catalyst, in which an alkene reacts with styrene thiirane to give the new thiirane. 

Derivation (1) Chlorohydration of propylene followed by saponification with lime, (2) peroxidation of propylene, (3) epoxidation of propylene by a hydroperoxide complex with molybdenum catalyst. 

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