Iridium ethylene

This reaction is rapidly replacing the former ethylene-based acetaldehyde oxidation route to acetic acid. The Monsanto process employs rhodium and methyl iodide, but soluble cobalt and iridium catalysts also have been found to be effective in the presence of iodide promoters. 

Propionic acid is accessible through the Hquid-phase carbonylation of ethylene over a nickel carbonyl catalyst (104), or via ethylene and formic acid over an iridium catalyst (105). Condensation of propionic acid with formaldehyde over a supported cesium catalyst gives MAA directiy with conversions of 30—40% and selectivities of 80—90% (106,107). Catalyst lifetime can be extended by adding low levels (several ppm) of cesium to the feed stream (108). 

With the exception of acetic, acryUc, and benzoic all other acids in Table 1 are primarily produced using oxo chemistry (see Oxo process). Propionic acid is made by the Hquid-phase oxidation of propionaldehyde, which in turn is made by appHcation of the oxo synthesis to ethylene. Propionic acid can also be made by oxidation of propane or by hydrocarboxylation of ethylene with CO and presence of a rhodium (2) or iridium (3) catalyst. 

In 1963 Vaska 164) discovered that the iridium complex Ir(PPh3)2C (CO) takes up molecular oxygen reversibly with 1 1 stoichiometry. This complex has since been shown to reversibly sorb (1 1) ethylene (755), carbon dioxide (765), F2C=CF2 and F3C—C=C—CF3 (767), as well as various other ligands (765). Ibers md La Placa (769)... 

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. 

Reactions of amines with alkenes have been reviewed298,299. Alkali metal amides are active homogeneous catalysts for the amination of olefins. Thus diethylamine and ethylene yield triethylamine when heated at 70-90 °C at 6-10 atm in the presence of lithium diethylamide and /V./V./V. /V -tetrarncthylcthylcncdiaminc. Solutions of caesium amide promote the addition of ammonia to ethylene at 100 °C and 110 atm to give mixtures of mono-, di- and triethylamines300. The iridium(I)-catalysed addition of aniline to norbomene affords the anilinonorbomane 274301. Treatment of norbomene with aniline... 

A wide range of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen nucleophiles react with allylic esters in the presence of iridium catalysts to form branched allylic substitution products. The bulk of the recent literature on iridium-catalyzed allylic substitution has focused on catalysts derived from [Ir(COD)Cl]2 and phosphoramidite ligands. These complexes catalyze the formation of enantiomerically enriched allylic amines, allylic ethers, and (3-branched y-8 unsaturated carbonyl compounds. The latest generation and most commonly used of these catalysts (Scheme 1) consists of a cyclometalated iridium-phosphoramidite core chelated by 1,5-cyclooctadiene. A fifth coordination site is occupied in catalyst precursors by an additional -phosphoramidite or ethylene. The phosphoramidite that is used to generate the metalacyclic core typically contains one BlNOLate and one bis-arylethylamino group on phosphorus. 

These recent mechanistic studies have provided the foundation for the most recent work that has expanded the scope of iridium-catalyzed allylic substitution. The synthesis and characterization of the ethylene-bound complex lb resulted directly... 

In contrast, reactions catalyzed by la were typically conducted with added [Ir (C0D)C1]2 to trap the K -phosphoramidite ligand after dissociation, and thereby, to leave the unsaturated active catalyst. Under these conductions, as much as half of the iridium in the system is present in an inactive acyclic species. In contrast, when ethylene adduct lb is used as the catalyst, all of the iridium belongs to the active metalacyclic species. Hartwig and coworkers have recently taken advantage of the increased availability of the active catalyst generated from lb to develop new allylic substitution reactions. These new processes include the reactions of carbamates, nitrogen heterocycles, and ammonia. 

The use of ethylene adduct lb is particularly important when the species added to activate catalyst la is incompatible with one of the reaction components. Iridium-catalyzed monoallylation of ammonia requires high concentrations of ammonia, but these conditions are not compatible with the additive [Ir(COD)Cl]2 because this complex reacts with ammonia [102]. Thus, a reaction between ammonia and ethyl ciimamyl carbonate catalyzed by ethylene adduct lb produces the monoallylation product in higher yield than the same reaction catalyzed by la and [Ir(COD)Cl]2 (Scheme 27). Ammonia reacts with a range of allylic carbonates in the presence of lb to form branched primary allylic amines in good yield and high enantioselectivity (Scheme 28). Quenching these reactions with acyl chlorides or anhydrides leads to a one-pot synthesis of branched allylic amides that are not yet directly accessible by metal-catalyzed allylation of amides. 

No complex was obtained on treatment of iridium (III) chloride with ethylene (67, 97, 138) or cyclo-octa-1,5-diene (45), but the ethylene complex [IrCl2(C2H4)] was reported to be formed by the action of ethanol on iridium chloride (67,138). No further examination of this complex has been reported. 

Two series of complex iridium salts corresponding to the hexammino-and diacido-iridium salts have been prepared containing ethylene-diamine. These have the same general characteristics as the ammino-salts. Both series have been resolved into optically active isomers, the dinitrito-series by means of d- and 1-bromo-camphor sulphonic acid, and the triethylenediamino-series by d- and 1-nitro-camphor. Attempts have been made to prepare etliylenediamino-derivatives containing tetravalent iridium. Thus, sodium hexaehloro-iridate, [IrCl6]Na2, reacts with ethylenediamine, but the products are syrupy and cannot be purified. Derivatives of trivalent iridium, however, have been prepared. These are crystalline and fairly easily purified. The... 

A few examples are known using homogeneous transition-metal-catalyzed additions. Rhodium(III) and iridium(III) salts catalyze the addition of dialkylamines to ethylene.302 These complexes are believed to activate the alkene, thus promoting hydroamination. A cationic iridium(I) complex, in turn, catalyzes the addition of aniline to norbornene through the activation of the H—N bond.303 For the sake of comparison it is of interest to note that dimethylamino derivatives of Nb, Ta, and Zr can be used to promote the reaction of dialkylamines with terminal alkenes.304 In this case, however, C-alkylation instead of /V-alkylation occurs. 

Ruthenium complexes mediate the hydroamination of ethylene with pyridine.589 The reaction, however, is not catalytic, because of strong complexation of the amine to metal sites. Iridium complexes with chiral diphosphine ligands and a small amount of fluoride cocatalyst are effective in inducing asymmetric alkene hydroamination reaction of norbomene with aniline [the best enantiomeric excess (ee) values exceed 90%].590 Strained methylenecyclopropanes react with ring opening to yield isomeric allylic enamines 591... 

Detailed mechanistic studies with respect to the application of Speier s catalyst on the hydrosilylation of ethylene showed that the process proceeds according to the Chalk-Harrod mechanism and the rate-determining step is the isomerization of Pt(silyl)(alkyl) complex formed by the ethylene insertion into the Pt—H bond.613 In contrast to the platinum-catalyzed hydrosilylation, the complexes of the iron and cobalt triads (iron, ruthenium, osmium and cobalt, rhodium, iridium, respectively) catalyze dehydrogenative silylation competitively with hydrosilylation. Dehydrogenative silylation occurs via the formation of a complex with cr-alkyl and a-silylalkyl ligands ... 

These results are supported by volumetric studies [52,54]. With both nickel and palladium there is a slow self-hydrogenation at —78°C. This becomes increasingly important as the temperature is increased at 0°C the overall hydrogen/carbon ratio in the surface species is 1.5, falling to 1.0 at room temperature. Field emission microscopic (FEM) studies of ethylene adsorption on iridium [56] and tungsten [57] are also satisfactorily... 

The co-existence of at least two modes of ethylene adsorption has been clearly demonstrated in studies of 14C-ethylene adsorption on nickel films [62] and various alumina- and silica-supported metals [53,63—65] at ambient temperature and above. When 14C-ethylene is adsorbed on to alumina-supported palladium, platinum, ruthenium, rhodium, nickel and iridium catalysts [63], it is observed that only a fraction of the initially adsorbed ethylene can be removed by molecular exchange with non-radioactive ethylene, by evacuation or during the subsequent hydrogenation of ethylene—hydrogen mixtures (Fig. 6). While the adsorptive capacity of the catalysts decreases in the order Ni > Rh > Ru > Ir > Pt > Pd, the percentage of the initially adsorbed ethylene retained by the surface which was the same for each of the processes, decreased in the order... 

Comparison of these results with those presented for ethylene in Table 7 show that, for each catalyst, the two reactions show close similarities suggesting that the general features of the mechanisms are the same for both reactions. There are some important differences in detail between the two reactions, particularly with palladium and iridium. With palladium, olefin exchange occurs more readily with propene than with ethylene. This may be due to easier desorption of propene or possibly due to an alternative mechanism such as... 

---