Methanol base catalysis

The ring opening reactions of unsaturated azlactones and other lactones - by methanol in the presence of diazomethane are analogous in principle. (The ring closure of pseudouric acid which occurs under the influence of diazomethane can also be understood as an example of base catalysis.)... 

A bottle labelled as 12% acid in aqueous methanol, and probably two years forgotten, exploded in storage, breaking adjacent bottles[l]. Trichloracetic acid is known to be more unstable, with respect to carbon dioxide and chloroform, in aqueous solution than pure. The reaction usually requires either heat or base catalysis [2], Storage of trichloroacetic acid at less than 30% concentration is not advised [3], Hydrolysis of the trichlorogroup is also conceivable, which would yield intermediate oxalyl monochloride, which habitually breaks down to give carbon monoxide, dioxide and hydrogen chloride. 

DPP pigments are synthesized by reacting succinic ester with benzonitriles in the presence of alcoholate in the corresponding alcohol for base catalysis. Originally starting from sodium methylate/methanol an important step toward a significantly improved yield was achieved by reaction of succinic tert.-alkylester in sodium tert.-alkylalcoholate/tert.-alkylalcohol. 

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. 

Solvolyses of the A(A -diphenylcarbamoylpyridinium ion (126) were found to be subject to specific and/or general base catalysis, which could be eliminated by addition of perchloric acid or increased, especially in fluoroalcohol-containing solvents, by addition of pyridine. The uncatalysed solvolyses in aqueous methanol and aqueous ethanol involve a weakly nucleophilically assisted (/ = 0.22) heterolysis and the solvolyses in the pure alcohols are anomalously slow. ... 

Examples of possible intramolecular general acid-base catalysis were reported by Kupchan et al. (1962). The methanolysis of coprostanol acetate and coprostane 3/3, 5/3-diol 3-monoacetate [12] in aqueous methanol was conducted in triethylamine-triethyl-ammonium acetate buffer. The rates of methanolysis at constant... 

It can be expected that solid bases could be successful for commercializing the alkylation of toluene with methanol as a route to styrene, or for selective alkene coupling. There is no doubt that achieving success in several important commercial processes will boost the field of solid base catalysis. Because it appears to be difficult to achieve superbasic organic resins, much more attention should be paid to enhancement of the base strengths of solid superbases. Further work should be done on supported alkali metals and mixed metal oxides. Development of new solid superbases will be improved by increasing our understanding of how alkali metal clusters (302-304) interact with supports and become stabilized. 

Figure 7 depicts a simplified block flow diagram (BFD) for a typical biodiesel production process using base catalysis. In the first step, methanol and catalyst (NaOH) are mixed with the aim to create the active methoxide ions (Figure 4, step 1(b)). Then, the oil and the methanol-catalyst solution are transferred to the main reactor where the transesterification reaction occurs. Once the reaction has finished, two distinct phases are formed with the less dense (top) phase containing the ester products and unreacted oil as well as some residual methanol, glycerol, and catalyst. The denser (bottom) layer is mainly composed of glycerin and methanol, but ester residues as well as most of the catalyst, water, and soap can also be found in this layer. 

Isolated amidine 20 could be converted to 3 thermally or by acid or base catalysis. Since 3 was best isolated as its HCl salt, the reaction was run by addihon of 1 equivalent of concentrated HCl to a slurry of amidine 20 at reflux in methanol. Under optimized conditions, triazole 3 was isolated by filhation of the reachon slurry at 0°C in 92% yield [14],... 

On the other hand, formation of methyl benzoate was also found to occur in methanol, indicating that, together with a general base-catalysis to produce benzamide and with the intramolecular, orthoester mechanism (see p. 110) to give the nitrogenated sugars, a transesterification reaction takes place in which the alkoxide ions play an important role. This can be exemplified by the following sequence. 

Examination of Equation 7.30 shows that the rate of an (E1cB)b reaction should be independent of the base concentration if the buffer ratio, B/BH+ is kept constant—that is, the reaction should exhibit specific base catalysis (see Section 7.1, p. 340 and Chapter 8, p. 405). An example of such a reaction is elimination of methanol from 33. Not only is specific base catalysis observed, but... 

Kinetic studies have been reported of the reactions of a series of 2-substituted-5-nitrothiophenes (substituent = Br, OMe, OPh, OC6H4-4-NO2) with secondary amines in room-temperature ionic liquids. The kinetic behaviour is similar to that of the corresponding reactions in methanol so that most reactions do not show base catalysis. The observation that reactivity is higher in the ionic liquids than in methanol (or benzene) is attributed to relatively poor solvation of the reagents by the ionic liquids. As in conventional solvents, 2-bromo-3-nitrothiophene shows higher reactivity than 2-bromo-5-nitrothiophene.42 Solvent effects on the kinetics of the alkaline hydrolysis of 2-phenylthio-3,5-dinitropyridine in aqueous organic solvents have been analysed.43... 

Acids and bases provide the best known ways of speeding up reactions. If you want to make an ester—add some acid. If you want to hydrolyse an ester—add some base. It may all seem rather simple. However, there are actually two kinds of acid catalysis and two kinds of base catalysis and this section is intended to explain the difference in concept and how to discover which operates. When we talk about acid catalysis we normally mean specific acid catalysis. This is the kind we have just seen—epoxides don t react with methanol but, if we protonate the epoxide first, then it reacts. Specific acid catalysis protonates electrophiles and makes them more electrophilic. 

We could, on the other hand, have argued that methanol is not a good enough nucleophile but if deprotonated with a base it becomes the much more nucleophilic methoxide. This is specific base catalysis. 

A key step is the formation of a stable hydronium ion upon formation of dimethylether. The concept of Bronsted acid-Lewis base catalysis also allows us to understand the formation of ethylene from methanol, as formed in zeolite-catalysed reactions. A possible mechanism is sketched in Fig. 4.68. 

Sponsored by the European Community, a Ct chemistry course was organized at Aachen by Prof. Keim. Dr Bchr and Dr Roper of the Technical University of Aachen, Prof, Teyssie and Prof. Hubert of the University of Liege and Prof. L go of the University of. Milan. The three-day course devoted to the application of predominantly liom( cneous transition metal based catalysis in C molecules formed the skeleton for this botrk. In nine chapters the following topics are covered the reduction of CO and reactions with CO. the chemistry of methanol, activation of carbon dioxide, hydrocyanation. methane chemistry and carbene chemistry. 

Problems of orientation of attack and reactivities of fluorinated alkenes arise in a way that is analogous but entirely complementary to the classical problems of electrophilic attack on alkenes. For example, typical of the results that we must be able to account for is the reaction of methoxide in methanol which occurs specifically at the Cp2= site in perfluoropropene (Figure 7.15). Also, there is a very wide range of reactivity with perfluoroalkenes for example, reactions of tetrafluoroethene usually require base catalysis, whereas perfluoroisobutene reacts with neutral methanol. 

---