Heterogeneous catalytic carbonylation reaction

An important point, difficult in many cases to be clarified, is related to the nature o-f the catalytic system, that is which is the real catalytical 1y active species and moreover in which cases we can clearly distinguish between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. For these reasons, the subdivision between heterogeneous(4,2.5.1., 4.2.6.1.) and homogeneous (4.2.5.2., 4.2,5.3., 4.2.6.2.) catalysts is in some cases somewhat arbitrary and uncertain. This unsatisfactory situation is primarily due to the fact that with few exceptions the catalytic carbonylation reactions of nitro compounds proceed at high pressures and temperatures, and these are reaction conditions which interfere with studies on the mechanism of these reactions. 

Hydrogenolysis of an aldehyde or ketone carbonyl to >CH2 is an important organic transformation, and classical procedures such as the Clemmenson and Wolff-Kishner reactions have limitations (24, 25) heterogeneous catalytic systems and several two-step procedures are also known (1, 24, 26). Our observation of this conversion in what is essentially a 2-phase medium... 

It is well known that Rh(I) complexes can catalyze the carbonylation of methanol. A heterogenized catalyst was prepared by ion exchange of zeolite X or Y with Rh cations.126 The same catalytic cycle takes place in zeolites and in solution because the activation energy is nearly the same. The specific activity in zeolites, however, is less by an order of magnitude, suggesting that the Rh sites in the zeolite are not uniformly accessible. The oxidation of camphene was performed over zeolites exchanged with different metals (Mn, Co, Cu, Ni, and Zn).127 Cu-loaded zeolites have attracted considerable attention because of their unique properties applied in catalytic redox reactions.128-130 Four different Cu sites with defined coordinations have been found.131 It was found that the zeolitic media affects strongly the catalytic activity of the Cd2+ ion sites in Cd zeolites used to catalyze the hydration of acetylene.132... 

A metal cluster can be considered as a polynuclear compound which contains at least one metal-metal bond. A better definition of cluster catalysis is a reaction in which at least one site of the cluster molecule is mechanistically necessary. Theoretically, homogeneous clusters should be capable of multiple-site catalysis. Many heterogeneous catalytic reactions require multiple-site catalysis and for these reasons discrete molecular metal clusters are often proposed as models of metal surfaces in the processes of chemisorption and catalysis. The use of carbonyl clusters as catalysts for hydrogenation reactions has been the subject of a number of papers, an important question actually being whether the cluster itself is the species responsible for the hydrogenation. Often the cluster is recovered from the catalytic reaction, or is the only species spectroscopically observed under catalytic conditions. These data have been taken as evidence for cluster catalysis. 

The selectivity in favor of the desired monobenzylated product was found to be >99% and the immobilized Pt02 was found to be 4-5 times more active than the commercial Adams catalysts. In solution or in immobilized form, the PtOz colloid is effective in the hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds or of olefins. Recently, the heterogeneous catalytic amination of aryl bromides by immobilized Pd(0) particles has been reported [163], Secondary amines such as piperidine and diethyl amine are used in the amination of aryl bromides and the reaction proceeds with good turnover numbers and regio-control. The catalysts can be reused repeatedly without loss of activity or selectivity after filtration from the reaction mixture. 

This catalytic system was very flexible because by simple modification of the reaction conditions it was possible to prepare oxidized polymers with the desired level of carboxyl and carbonyl functions. No waste was formed because the process did not involve any acids, bases or buffer solutions. The incipient wetness process is very easy to scale up. Hydrophilic starch was prepared in batches of 150 L and incorporated successfully in paint formulations. Good results were also obtained with in vitro and in vivo tests for cosmetic formulation. Interestingly, this is a rather unique example of a heterogeneous catalytic process involving a soluble catalyst and a solid substrate. 

The catalytic activity of zeolites in alkane to olefin reactions, photochemical conversion reactions, Fischer-Tropsch hydrogenation, isocyana-tion, carbonylation, and related chemistry make up the last theme. An important focus of this is to explore the utility of zeolites as selective heterogeneous catalysts for reactions that involve Group VIII metals. The mechanistic nature of some of this chemistry is presented, along with the characterization of supported organometallic transition metal complexes. 

The filled arrows in Figure 1.2 are processes either based on homogeneous catalysts or having great relevance in homogeneous catalysis. Conversion of synthesis gas into methanol is achieved by a heterogeneous catalyst, while the manufacture of acetic acid is based on the homogeneous catalytic carbonylation of methanol. Similar carbonyla-tion of methyl acetate, the ester of methanol and acetic acid, yields acetic anhydride. These reactions are discussed in Chapter 4. 

---