Rhodium hydrogenolysis catalyst

Alkali moderation of supported precious metal catalysts reduces secondary amine formation and generation of ammonia (18). Ammonia in the reaction medium inhibits Rh, but not Ru precious metal catalyst. More secondary amine results from use of more polar protic solvents, CH OH > C2H5OH > Lithium hydroxide is the most effective alkah promoter (19), reducing secondary amine formation and hydrogenolysis. The general order of catalyst procUvity toward secondary amine formation is Pt > Pd Ru > Rh (20). Rhodium s catalyst support contribution to secondary amine formation decreases ia the order carbon > alumina > barium carbonate > barium sulfate > calcium carbonate. 

Asymmetric hydrogenolysis of epoxides has received relatively little attention despite the utility such processes might hold for the preparation of chiral secondary alcohol products. Chan et al. showed that epoxysuccinate disodium salt was reduced by use of a rhodium norbornadiene catalyst in methanol/water at room temperature to give the corresponding secondary alcohol in 62% ee (Scheme 7.31) [58]. Reduction with D2 afforded a labeled product consistent with direct epoxide C-O bond cleavage and no isomerization to the ketone or enol before reduction. 

In conclnsion, it was shown that the hydrogenolysis of glycerol in the presence of heterogeneous rhodium-based catalysts yielded mainly either 1,2-, or 1,3-propane diol. Many parameters influenced the activity and the selectivity of the catalysts, particnlarly the presence of metal additives and the initial pH value. 1,2-propanediol can be obtained nearly quantitatively at high pH. Further woik is currently under progress in order to optimize this reaction. 

Rylander and Himelstein studied the hydrogenation of resorcinol over supported platinum, palladium, rhodium, and palladium-rhodium as catalysts in ethanol at 65°C and an initial hydrogen pressure of 0.34 MPa. Extensive hydrogenolysis to give cyclohex -anol took place over 5% Pt-C, 5% Pd-C, and 2.5% Pd-2.5% Rh-C, and the yields of cyclohexane-1,3-diol were only 18.7-26.2%. Rhodium catalysts caused hydro-... 

Catalytic hydrogenation of nitriles is often accompanied by hydrogenolysis, e.g., debenzylation such side reactions can be avoided by use of rhodium-aluminum catalysts these are applied in the presence of ammonia at room temperature and low pressures.26... 

The well-known Adams platinum oxide can be prepared conveniently by the procedure of Adams et al. (2). Platinum oxides prepared in this way usually contain some traces of sodium, which in certain reactions can have an adverse effect. The sodium can be removed by washing with dilute acid (53). The Nishimuri catalyst (30% Pt, 70% Rh oxides) can be prepared by the same procedure as for platinum oxide or with variations from platinum and rhodium salts (64,65,66). This catalyst has much merit. It is usually most useful when hydrogenolysis is to be avoided (67,85,86). 

Another example is the hydrogenation of the homoallylic eompound 4-methyl-3-cyclohexenyl ethyl ether to a mixture of 4-methylcyclohexyl ethyl ether and methylcyclohexane. The extent of hydrogenolysis depends on both the isomerizing and the hydrogenolyzing tendencies of the catalysts. With unsupported metals in ethanol, the percent hydrogenolysis decreased in the order palladium (62.6%), rhodium (23 6%), platinum (7.1%), iridium (3.9%), ruthenium (3.0%) (S3). 

Acetylenic epoxides are reduced readily to the olehnic epoxide, provided the resulting epoxide is not allylic (27). In the latter case, one might surmise that hydrogenolysis could best be avoided by use of rhodium in a neutral nonpolar solvent (81) or a Lindlar catalyst (13). Reduction of l,2-epoxydec-4-yne over Lindlar catalyst gave (Z)-l,2-epoxydec-4-ene in 95% yield (69). Hydrogenation ceased spontaneously. 

Ruthenium is excellent for hydrogenation of aliphatic carbonyl compounds (92), and it, as well as nickel, is used industrially for conversion of glucose to sorbitol (14,15,29,75,100). Nickel usually requires vigorous conditions unless large amounts of catalyst are used (11,20,27,37,60), or the catalyst is very active, such as W-6 Raney nickel (6). Copper chromite is always used at elevated temperatures and pressures and may be useful if aromatic-ring saturation is to be avoided. Rhodium has given excellent results under mild conditions when other catalysts have failed (4,5,66). It is useful in reduction of aliphatic carbonyls in molecules susceptible to hydrogenolysis. 

Anilines have been reduced successfully over a variety of supported and unsupported metals, including palladium, platinum, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium, (54), cobalt, and nickel. Base metals require high temperatures and pressures (7d), whereas noble metals can be used under much milder conditions. Currently, preferred catalysts in both laboratory or industrial practice are rhodium at lower pressures and ruthenium at higher pressures, for both display high activity and relatively little tendency toward either coupling or hydrogenolysis,... 

Nowadays, rhodium or ruthenium are often the preferred catalysts. Rhodium can be used under mild conditions, whereas ruthenium needs elevated pressures. If pressure is available, it might as well be used even with rhodium, for increased pressure makes more efficient use of the catalyst, as well as decreases whatever hydrogenolysis might occur at lower pressure. Rhodium 7,8,12 20,21,38,39,45,65,66,68,69,75) and ruthenium 18,26 8,52,68,69,72,74) are especially advantageous in reductions of sensitive phenols and phenyl ethers that undergo extensive hydrogenolysis over catalysts such as platinum oxide. 

If saturation occurs first, the product will be relatively stable toward further reduction but if hydrogenolysis occurs first, the resulting olefin is readily reduced. This ratio depends greatly on substrate structure, the catalyst, and environment. Hydrogenolysis is best achieved over platinum, whereas palladium (77a,82a,122bJ62a), rhodium (I09a), or ruthenium (I0a,I09a) tend to favor olefin saturation. 

The catalyst exerts some influence on the bonds broken in hydrogenolysis of saturated cyclopropanes (775), but in vinyl and alkylidene cyclopropanes the effect is pronounced. Platinum or palladium are used frequently. In one case, Nishimura s [124a) catalyst, rhodium-platinum oxide (7 3), worked well where platinum oxide failed (.75). An impressive example of the marked influence of catalyst is the hydrogenation of the spirooctane 42, which,... 

In order to improve the selectivity toward the formation of 1,3-PDO, we studied the influence of metal salt additives. While the addition of calcium or copper salts exhibited a moderate influence, the presence of iron salts played a significant role on the rate and selectivity of the reaction (Figure 35.1). The metal additives reduced noticeably the activity of the rhodium catalysts suggesting that they acted as a surface poison, but they modified the selectivity of the glycerol hydrogenolysis, probably through selective diol chelation. 

As corroborated by deuterium labeling studies, the catalytic mechanism likely involves oxidative dimerization of acetylene to form a rhodacyclopen-tadiene [113] followed by carbonyl insertion [114,115]. Protonolytic cleavage of the resulting oxarhodacycloheptadiene by the Bronsted acid co-catalyst gives rise to a vinyl rhodium carboxylate, which upon hydrogenolysis through a six-centered transition structure and subsequent C - H reductive elimina-... 

With catalysts such as nickel and rhodium for which it has been shown that 1-2 hydrogenolysis is seriously competitive with 1-3 hydrogenolysis, there is no need to assume that ir-olefin/allyl hydrogenolysis occurs (but neither can it with certainty be excluded). This conclusion is likely to be true for other catalysts such as cobalt and iron which also favor complete hydrocarbon fragmentation to methane. 

Most hydroformylation investigations reported since 1960 have involved trialkyl or triarylphosphine complexes of cobalt and, more recently, of rhodium. Infrared studies of phosphine complex catalysts under reaction conditions as well as simple metal carbonyl systems have provided substantial information about the postulated mechanisms. Spectra of a cobalt 1-octene system at 250 atm pressure and 150°C (21) contained absorptions characteristic for the acyl intermediate C8H17COCo(CO)4 (2103 and 2002 cm-1) and Co2(CO)8. The amount of acyl species present under these steady-state conditions increased with a change in the CO/ H2 ratio in the order 3/1 > 1/1 > 1/3. This suggests that for this system under these conditions, hydrogenolysis of the acyl cobalt species is a rate-determining step. 

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