Oxidation-reduction catalytic systems

Copper is an essential element. It is of a great importance in the metabolic processes of plants, its content in plant tissues being very low, much lower than those of zinc and manganese. Copper ions form complexes with proteins and with the other biopolymers in plant tissues. These complexes are more stable than those of the other metals. Binding to proteins enhances the catalytic activity of copper. Copper participates in many oxidation-reduction enzymatic systems, and it is thus of importance particularly in respiration and photosynthesis processes. In plants it is also essential in the nitrogen metabolism. Its concentration in plants ranges... 

The Wacker-type oxidation of olefins is one of the oldest homogeneous transition metal-catalyzed reactions [1], The most prominent example of this type of reaction is the oxidation of ethylene to acetaldehyde by a PdCl2/CuCl2/02 system (Wacker-Hoechst process). In this industrial process, oxidation of ethylene by Pd(ll) leads to Pd(0), which is reoxidized to Pd(ll) via reduction of Cu(ll) to Cu(l). To complete the oxidation-reduction catalytic cycle, Cu(l) is classically reoxidized to Cu(ll) by O2 [2, 3], The use of bidentate ligands [4], bicomponent systems constituted of benzoquinone and iron(ll) phfhalocyanine [5] or chlorine-free oxidants such as ferric sulfate [6], heteropoly acid [7], and benzoquinone [8], make it possible to increase the selectivity reaction by avoiding the formation of chlorinated products. 

In addition to platinum and related metals, the principal active component ia the multiflmctioaal systems is cerium oxide. Each catalytic coaverter coataias 50—100 g of finely divided ceria dispersed within the washcoat. Elucidatioa of the detailed behavior of cerium is difficult and compHcated by the presence of other additives, eg, lanthanum oxide, that perform related functions. Ceria acts as a stabilizer for the high surface area alumina, as a promoter of the water gas shift reaction, as an oxygen storage component, and as an enhancer of the NO reduction capability of rhodium. 

Table 4.2 lists the same catalytic systems but now grouped in terms of different reaction types (oxidations, hydrogenations, reductions and others). In this table and in subsequent chapters the subscript D denotes and electron donor reactant while the subscript A denotes an electron acceptor reactant. The table also lists the temperature and gas composition range of each investigation in terms of the parameter Pa/Pd which as subsequently shown plays an important role on the observed r vs O global behaviour. Table 4.3 is the same as Table 4.2 but also provides additional information regarding the open-circuit catalytic kinetics, whenever available. Table 4.3 is useful for extracting the promotional rules discussed Chapter 6. 

Some of the details of the mechanism may differ for various catalytic systems. There have been kinetic studies on two of the amination systems discussed here. The results of a study of the kinetics of amination of bromobenzene using Pd2(dba)3, BINAP, and sodium r-amyloxide in toluene were consistent with the oxidative addition occurring after addition of the amine at Pd. The reductive elimination is associated with deprotonation of the animated palladium complex.166... 

One-electron reduction or oxidation of organic compounds provides a useful method for the generation of anion radicals or cation radicals, respectively. These methods are used as key processes in radical reactions. Redox properties of transition metals can be utilized for the efficient one-electron reduction or oxidation (Scheme 1). In particular, the redox function of early transition metals including titanium, vanadium, and manganese has been of synthetic potential from this point of view [1-8]. The synthetic limitation exists in the use of a stoichiometric or excess amount of metallic reductants or oxidants to complete the reaction. Generally, the construction of a catalytic redox cycle for one-electron reduction is difficult to achieve. A catalytic system should be constructed to avoid the use of such amounts of expensive and/or toxic metallic reagents. 

It is important to select stoichiometric co-reductants or co-oxidants for the reversible cycle of a catalyst. A metallic co-reductant is ultimately converted to the corresponding metal salt in a higher oxidation state, which may work as a Lewis acid. Taking these interactions into account, the requisite catalytic system can be attained through multi-component interactions. Stereoselectivity should also be controlled, from synthetic points of view. The stereoselective and/or stereospecific transformations depend on the intermediary structure. The potential interaction and structural control permit efficient and selective methods in synthetic radical reactions. This chapter describes the construction of the catalytic system for one-electron reduction reactions represented by the pinacol coupling reaction. 

The multi-component systems developed quite recently have allowed the efficient metal-catalyzed stereoselective reactions with synthetic potential [75-77]. Multi-components including a catalyst, a co-reductant, and additives cooperate with each other to construct the catalytic systems for efficient reduction. It is essential that the active catalyst is effectively regenerated by redox interaction with the co-reductant. The selection of the co-reductant is important. The oxidized form of the co-reductant should not interfere with, but assist the reduction reaction or at least, be tolerant under the conditions. Additives, which are considered to contribute to the redox cycle directly, possibly facilitate the electron transfer and liberate the catalyst from the reaction adduct. Co-reductants like Al, Zn, and Mg are used in the catalytic reactions, but from the viewpoint of green chemistry, an electron source should be environmentally harmonious, such as H2. 

The replacement of vanadia-based catalysts in the reduction of NOx with ammonia is of interest due to the toxicity of vanadium. Tentative investigations on the use of noble metals in the NO + NH3 reaction have been nicely reviewed by Bosch and Janssen [85], More recently, Seker et al. [86] did not completely succeed on Pt/Al203 with a significant formation of N20 according to the temperature and the water composition. Moreover, 25 ppm S02 has a detrimental effect on the selectivity with selectivity towards the oxidation of NH3 into NO enhanced above 300°C. Supported copper-based catalysts have shown to exhibit excellent activity for NOx abatement. Recently Suarez et al and Blanco et al. [87,88] reported high performances of Cu0/Ni0-Al203 monolithic catalysts with NO/NOz = 1 at low temperature. Different oxidic copper species have been previously identified in those catalytic systems with Cu2+, copper aluminate and CuO species [89], Subsequent additions of Ni2+ in octahedral sites of subsurface layers induce a redistribution of Cu2+ with a surface copper enrichment. Such redistribution... 

Spiro [27] has derived quantitative expressions for the catalytic effect of electron conducting catalysts on oxidation-reduction reactions in solution in which the catalyst assumes the Emp imposed on it by the interacting redox couples. When both partial reaction polarization curves in the region of Emp exhibit Tafel type kinetics, he determined that the catalytic rate of reaction will be proportional to the concentrations of the two reactants raised to fractional powers in many simple cases, the power is one. On the other hand, if the polarization curve of one of the reactants shows diffusion-controlled kinetics, the catalytic rate of reaction will be proportional to the concentration of that reactant alone. Electroless metal deposition systems, at least those that appear to obey the MPT model, may be considered to be a special case of the general class of heterogeneously catalyzed reactions treated by Spiro. 

In the different volumes of this new series we will feature catalysts for oxidation and reduction reactions, hydrolysis protocols and catalytic systems for carbon-carbon bond formation inter alia. Many of the catalysts featured will be chiral, given the present day interest in the preparation of single-enantiomer fine chemicals. When appropriate, a catalyst type that is capable of a wide range of transformations will be featured. In these volumes the amount of practical data that is described will be proportionately less, and attention will be focused on the past uses of the system and its future potential. 

The difference between this catalytic system and Wilkinson s catalyst lies in the sequence of the oxidative addition and the alkene complexation. As mentioned above, for the cationic catalysts the intermediate alkene (enamide) complex has been spectroscopically observed. Subsequently oxidative addition of H2 and insertion of the alkene occurs, followed by reductive elimination of the hydrogenation product. 

While the main carbonylation cycles are now understood in considerable detail for these apparently simple catalytic systems, there will undoubtedly be considerably more work done on these and related sytems to understand the factors influencing the principal steps of oxidative addition, migratory insertion and reductive elimination and, in particular, further work to understand the unwanted reactions that lead to by-products. 

Owing to the very reactive nature of RuO relatively few solvents are suitable for its reactions. It is soluble in water to the extent of some 2% and is stable in such solutions, but reacts violently with diethyl ether, benzene and pyridine [236]. It has often been used catalytically in a biphasic system, with the co-oxidant in the aqueous layer. Under these circumstances the RuO formed from reduction of RuO by the substrate is re-oxidised at the organic - aqueous interface, so that oxidations with such systems can be much enhanced by stirring, shaking or sonication. In some cases (e.g. oxidation of aUcenes) it may be necessary to cool the reactants below room temperature, but in most cases ambient temperatures suffice, as indeed they do for the vast majority of organic oxidations catalysed by Ru complexes. 

Recent automobile exhaust emissions standards are summarized in Table III, and a review of the catalytic systems designed to meet these standards has recently appeared (26). Catalytic converters have been used as a part of emission control systems since 1975. One approach has been to use a dual bed catalytic converter where the reduction of NO to N2 occurs over the first bed, and excess O2 is provided to the second bed to oxidize the CO and hydrocarbons more completely. Typically, the exhaust contains compounds listed in Table IV plus some poisons containing Pb, P, S etc, (27). The catalytic system must reduce concentrations of CO, hydrocarbon and NOx to legally acceptable levels. 

Despite numerous screening studies, the literature contains little evidence that homogeneous catalyst systems based on metals other than Co, Rh, or Ru have significant activity for catalytic CO reduction. As seen for the known active catalytic systems, however, properties of solvents and additives or promoters can have enormous effects on catalytic activities. Solvents and additives can serve many roles in these catalytic systems. One important function of promoters in the Rh and Ru systems appears to be that of stabilizing metal oxidation states involved in catalytic chemistry. Other... 

Since 1981, three-way catalytic systems have been standard in new cars sold in North America.6,280 These systems consist of platinum, palladium, and rhodium catalysts dispersed on an activated alumina layer ( wash-coat ) on a ceramic honeycomb monolith the Pt and Pd serve primarily to catalyze oxidation of the CO and hydrocarbons, and the Rh to catalyze reduction of the NO. These converters operate with a near-stoichiometric air-fuel mix at 400-600 °C higher temperatures may cause the Rh to react with the washcoat. In some designs, the catalyst bed is electrically heated at start-up to avoid the problem of temporarily excessive CO emissions from a cold catalyst. Zeolite-type catalysts containing bound metal atoms or ions (e.g., Cu/ZSM-5) have been proposed as alternatives to systems based on precious metals. 

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