Molten quaternary phosphonium salts

Reactions conducted in molten quaternary phosphonium salts require no other solvent (199). This material serves as both promoter and reaction medium. Care must be exercised in choosing the salt in such a reaction, since any decomposition could lead to products such as trialkylphosphines and alkyl halides which are expected to be deleterious to catalyst performance. Tetrabutylphosphonium bromide is reported to provide a stable catalyst medium which can be recycled (199, 200), but other related salts show evidence of thermal decomposition during catalytic reactions. Experiments in tetrabutylphosphonium acetate, for example, are found to produce large amounts of methyl and ethylene glycol acetate esters (199). 

A particularly broad potential for application in syngas reactions is shown by ruthenium carbonyl clusters. Iodide promoters seem to favor ethylene glycol (155,156) the formation of [HRu3(CO),]- and [Ru(CO)3I3]- was observed under the catalytic conditions. These species possibly have a synergistic effect on the catalytic process. Imidazole promoters have been found to increase the catalytic activity for both methanol and ethylene glycol formation (158-160). Quaternary phosphonium salt melts have been used as solvents in these cases the anion [HRu3(CO)u] was detected in the mixture (169). Cobalt iodide as cocatalyst in molten [PBu4]Br directs the catalytic synthesis toward acetic add (163). With... 

Catalyst-philic liquid phases can be used to promote the catalytic activity of heterogeneous catalysts, and to facilitate product-catalyst separation. A variety of different constituents of such catalyst-philic phases can be used, the most attractive being quaternary ammonium and phosphonium salts, PEGs, as well as water and other kinds of low-temperature molten salts. In each system, the catalyst-philic phase is characterized as being separate from the remainder of the reaction mixture, and the catalyst should reside within this phase. 

Jn a potentially far reaching application for melt catalysis by the transition metals, we at Texaco have demonstrated the synthesis of a range of commodity chemicals and fuels directly from CO/H2 via the use of ruthenium-containing molten salt catalysis. Products include ethylene glycol, Ci-C4 alcohols, acetic acid, acetate esters, C2+ olefins and vicinal glycol esters. In its simplest form, this new class of melt catalyst comprises one or more ruthenium sources, e.g. ruthenium carbonyls, oxides, complexes, etc. dispersed in a low-melting (m.p. <150 C) quaternary phosphonium or ammonium salt (e.g. tetrabutylphos-phonium bromide). The key components are selected such that ... 

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