Methanol rhodium complex

Ruthenium complexes convert CO + Hj into methanol . Rhodium complexes at very high pressures catalyze the formation of methanol and ethylene glycol in high... 

Metha.no Ca.rbonyla.tion, An important industrial process cataly2ed by rhodium complexes in solution is methanol carbonylation to give acetic acid. 

Polymer-supported catalysts incorporating organometaUic complexes also behave in much the same way as their soluble analogues (28). Extensive research has been done in attempts to develop supported rhodium complex catalysts for olefin hydroformylation and methanol carbonylation, but the effort has not been commercially successful. The difficulty is that the polymer-supported catalysts are not sufftciendy stable the valuable metal is continuously leached into the product stream (28). Consequendy, the soHd catalysts fail to eliminate the problems of corrosion and catalyst recovery and recycle that are characteristic of solution catalysis. 

Rhodium complexes based on the chiral ligand (120) have been used in the asymmetric hydrogenation of functionalized chelating olefins in methanol and water. The results are compared to those obtained using the corresponding non-sulfonated catalysts in water all sulfonated... 

One of the only examples of a commercial process using immobilised homogeneous catalysts comprises an anionic rhodium complex [RhI2(CO)2] that is bound via ionic interactions to an ion exchange resin [3] and is used for the carbonylation of methanol. 

THE CARBONYLATION OF METHANOL CATALYZED BY RHODIUM COMPLEXES IN SOLUTION... 

Pannetier et al. (8) observed that the presence of chelating ligands on the rhodium gave a much poorer methanol conversion over a limited reaction period than did reactions using rhodium complexes with mono-dentate ligands. This may reflect the slower removal and subsequent quatemization of the chelating ligands. 

In the absence of reactant, (cationic) biphosphine rhodium complexes exist in methanol, the generally preferred reaction medium, as a Hs-solvate. The affinity for dihydrogen is low. 

An alternative strategy for catalyst immobilisation uses ion-pair interactions between ionic catalyst complexes and polymeric ion exchange resins. Since all the rhodium complexes in the catalytic methanol carbonylation cycle are anionic, this is an attractive candidate for ionic attachment. In 1981, Drago et al. described the effective immobilisation of the rhodium catalyst on polymeric supports based on methylated polyvinylpyridines [48]. The activity was reported to be equal to the homogeneous system at 120 °C with minimal leaching of the supported catalyst. The ionically bound complex [Rh(CO)2l2] was identified by infrared spectroscopic analysis of the impregnated resin. 

The rate-determining step in this process is the oxidative addition of methyl iodide to 1. Within the operating window of the process the reaction rate is independent of the carbon monoxide pressure and independent of the concentration of methanol. The methyl species 2 formed in reaction (2) cannot be observed under the reaction conditions. The methyl iodide intermediate enables the formation of a methyl rhodium complex methanol is not sufficiently electrophilic to carry out this reaction. As for other nucleophiles, the reaction is much slower with methyl bromide or methyl chloride as the catalyst component. 

The sol-gel entrapment of the metal complexes [Ru(p-cymene)(BINAP)Cl]Cl and the rhodium complexes formed in situ from the reaction of [Rh(COD)Cl]2 with DlOP and BPPM has been reported by Avnir and coworkers [198]. The metal complexes were entrapped by two different methods the first involved addition of tetramethoxysilane to a THF solution of the metal complex and triethylamine, while the second method was a two-step process in which aqueous NH4OH was added to a solution of HCl, tetramethoxysilane and methanol at pH 1.96 followed by a THF solution of the appropriate metal complex. The gel obtained by each method was then dried, crushed, washed with boiling CH2CI2, sonicated in the same solvent and dried in vacuo at room temperature until constant weight was achieved. Hydrogenation of itaconic acid by these entrapped catalysts afforded near-quantitative yields of methylsuccinic acid with up to 78% e.e. In addition, the catalysts were found to be leach-proof in ethanol and other polar solvents, and could be recycled. 

Kollner et al. (29) prepared a Josiphos derivative containing an amine functionality that was reacted with benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid trichloride (11) and adamantane-l,3,5,7-tetracarboxylic acid tetrachloride (12). The second generation of these two types of dendrimers (13 and 14) were synthesized convergently through esterification of benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid trichloride and adamantane-1,3,5,7-tetracarboxylic acid with a phenol bearing the Josiphos derivative in the 1,3 positions. The rhodium complexes of the dendrimers were used as chiral dendritic catalysts in the asymmetric hydrogenation of dimethyl itaconate in methanol (1 mol% catalyst, 1 bar H2 partial pressure). The enantioselectivities were only... 

The synthesis of acetic acid (AcOH) from methanol (MeOH) and carbon monoxide has been performed industrially in the liquid phase using a rhodium complex catalyst and an iodide promoter ( 4). The selectivity to acetic acid is more than 99% under mild conditions (175 C, 28 atm). The homogeneous rhodium catalyst is also effective for the synthesis of acetic anhydride (Ac O) by the carbonylation of dimethyl ether (DME) or methyl acetate (AcOMe) (5-13). However, rhodium is one of the most expensive metals, and its proved reserves are quite limited. It is highly desirable, therefore, to develop a new catalyst as a substitute for rhodium. 

A special case is the test of immobilization of rhodium-diphosphine complexes on all-silica materials. After the first immobilization step in dichloromethane, the solid material had a yellow color and a Rh content of 0.07 mmol g was found. After the extraction with methanol, the entire amount of organometallic complex was washed out and the final material had again the original white color. No rhodium was detected in ICP-AES analysis of this sample. However, in the case of aluminum-containing materials the orange color obtained after the immobilization of the rhodium complexes in dichloromethane is clearly maintained even after extraction in methanol. 

Virtually quantitative conversions were observed in the hydroformylation of 1-tetradecene with rhodium complexes generated from the lithium salt of tppms or the lithium (sodium) salts of 21 (Table 2 R=Ph n=3,4) and 22 (Table 2) in methanol as solvent.127,334 Catalyst recycling involved evaporation of methanol and addition of water to form a two phase system, separation of the aqueous phase, evaporation to dryness and addition of MeOH. 

Industrial Applications. Several large scale industrial processes are based on some of the reactions listed above, and more are under development. Most notable among those currently in use is the already mentioned Wacker process for acetaldehyde production. Similarly, the production of vinyl acetate from ethylene and acetic acid has been commercialized. Major processes nearing commercialization are hydroformylations catalyzed by phosphine-cobalt or phosphine-rhodium complexes and the carbonylation of methanol to acetic acid catalyzed by (< 3P) 2RhCOCl. 

The solid and solution P-31 NMR spectra of the BPPM-rhodium complex are shown in Figure 6. The solution spectrum was obtained in acetone-d6 as the solvent, and displays an unusual coupling pattern when compared with the previously published spectrum obtained in methanol-d4 (II, 12). The spectrum shown in Figure 6 displays four sets of phosphorus signals two sets of four signals are centered at 43.5... 

Acetic acid (CH3COOH) is a bulk commodity chemical with a world production of about 3.1 x 106 Mg/year, a demand increasing at a rate of +2.6% per year and a market price of US 0.44-0.47 per kg (Anon., 2001a). It is obtained primarily by the Monsanto or methanol carbonylation process, in which carbon monoxide reacts with methanol under the influence of a rhodium complex catalyst at 180°C and pressures of 30-40 bar, and secondarily by the oxidation of ethanol (Backus et al., 2003). The acetic fermentation route is limited to the food market and leads to vinegar production from several raw materials (e.g., apples, malt, grapes, grain, wines, and so on). 

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