Solvents as catalysts

Lim D, C Jenson, MP Repasky, WL Jorgenson (1999) Solvent as Catalyst Computational Studies of Organic Reactions in Solution. In Transition State Modeling for Catalysis, edited by D. G. Truhlar and K. Morokuma. Washington, DC American Chemical Society. 

Computational studies of organic reactions in solution have been reviewed from the standpoint of regarding the solvent as catalyst. ° A reaction path is obtained from ab initio MO calculations on the gas-phase reaction and effects of solvation are then determined for this pathway by free-energy perturbation calculations using Monte Carlo simulations in several solvents. Applications to a variety of reactions including... 

Bonnemann H ef a/1996 Nanoscale colloidal metals and alloys stabilized by solvents and surfactants preparation and use as catalyst precursors J. Organometaii. Chem. 520 143... 

In general, however, the diacetyl derivatives are unstable in the presence of water, undergoing hydrolysis to the mono-acetyl compound, so that when they (or a mixture of mono- and di-acetyl derivatives) are crystallised from an aqueous solvent, e.g., dilute alcohol, only the mono-acetyl derivative is obtained. A further disadvantage of the use of acetic anhydride in the absence of a solvent is that all the impm-ities in the amine are generally present in the reaction product. Heavily substituted amines, t.g., 2 4 6-tribromoaniline, react extremely slowly with acetic anhydride, but in the presence of a few drops of concentrated sulphuric acid as catalyst acetylation occurs rapidly, for example ... 

This thesis describes a study of catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions in water. No studies in this field had been reported at the start of the research, despite the well known beneficial effects of acpieous solvents as well as of Lewis-add catalysts on rate and endo-exo selectivity of Diels-Alder reactions in organic solvents. We envisaged that a combination of these two effects might well result in extremely large rate enhancements and improvements of the endo-exo selectivity. 

Note 2. Prepared by azeotropic removal of water from the commercial, water-containing product by means of benzene. This solvent was removed in a water--pump vacuum and the remaining mass was powdered. The water-containing acid appeared to work much less efficiently as catalyst. 

Styry] Dyes result from the condensation of benzaldehyde or p-dialkylaminobenzaldehyde with quaternary salts of 2-methylthiazole. either in acetic anhydride or in a solvent with a base as catalyst. 

Most cellulose acetate is manufactured by a solution process, ie, the cellulose acetate dissolves as it is produced. The cellulose is acetylated with acetic anhydride acetic acid is the solvent and sulfuric acid the catalyst. The latter can be present at 10—15 wt % based on cellulose (high catalyst process) or at ca 7 wt % (low catalyst process). In the second most common process, the solvent process, methylene chloride replaces the acetic acid as solvent, and perchloric acid is frequentiy the catalyst. There is also a seldom used heterogeneous process that employs an organic solvent as the medium, and the cellulose acetate produced never dissolves. More detailed information on these processes can be found in Reference 28. 

Ethynylation. Base-catalyzed addition of acetylene to carbonyl compounds to form -yn-ols and -yn-glycols (see Acetylene-DERIVED chemicals) is a general and versatile reaction for the production of many commercially useful products. Finely divided KOH can be used in organic solvents or Hquid ammonia. The latter system is widely used for the production of pharmaceuticals and perfumes. The primary commercial appHcation of ethynylation is in the production of 2-butyne-l,4-diol from acetylene and formaldehyde using supported copper acetyHde as catalyst in an aqueous Hquid-fiHed system. 

Other than fuel, the largest volume appHcation for hexane is in extraction of oil from seeds, eg, soybeans, cottonseed, safflower seed, peanuts, rapeseed, etc. Hexane has been found ideal for these appHcations because of its high solvency for oil, low boiling point, and low cost. Its narrow boiling range minimises losses, and its low benzene content minimises toxicity. These same properties also make hexane a desirable solvent and reaction medium in the manufacture of polyolefins, synthetic mbbers, and some pharmaceuticals. The solvent serves as catalyst carrier and, in some systems, assists in molecular weight regulation by precipitation of the polymer as it reaches a certain molecular size. However, most solution polymerization processes are fairly old it is likely that those processes will be replaced by more efficient nonsolvent processes in time. 

The conversion of CO to CO2 can be conducted in two different ways. In the first, gases leaving the gas scmbber are heated to 260°C and passed over a cobalt—molybdenum catalyst. These catalysts typically contain 3—4% cobalt(II) oxide [1307-96-6] CoO 13—15% molybdenum oxide [1313-27-5] MoO and 76—80% alumina, JSifDy and are offered as 3-mm extmsions, SV about 1000 h . On these catalysts any COS and CS2 are converted to H2S. Operating temperatures are 260—450°C. The gases leaving this shift converter are then scmbbed with a solvent as in the desulfurization step. After the first removal of the acid gases, a second shift step reduces the CO content in the gas to 0.25—0.4%, on a dry gas basis. The catalyst for this step is usually Cu—Zn, which may be protected by a layer of ZnO. 

Some slurry processes use continuous stirred tank reactors and relatively heavy solvents (57) these ate employed by such companies as Hoechst, Montedison, Mitsubishi, Dow, and Nissan. In the Hoechst process (Eig. 4), hexane is used as the diluent. Reactors usually operate at 80—90°C and a total pressure of 1—3 MPa (10—30 psi). The solvent, ethylene, catalyst components, and hydrogen are all continuously fed into the reactor. The residence time of catalyst particles in the reactor is two to three hours. The polymer slurry may be transferred into a smaller reactor for post-polymerization. In most cases, molecular weight of polymer is controlled by the addition of hydrogen to both reactors. After the slurry exits the second reactor, the total charge is separated by a centrifuge into a Hquid stream and soHd polymer. The solvent is then steam-stripped from wet polymer, purified, and returned to the main reactor the wet polymer is dried and pelletized. Variations of this process are widely used throughout the world. 

Mixed mono- and dialkyl are used as catalysts for resin curing and as intermediates for fire retardants, oil additives, antistatic agents (qv), and extraction solvents. An equimolar mixture of mono- and dialkyl acid phosphates are formed at a 1 6 mole ratio of oxide to alcohol. 

Technical-Grade Terephthalic Acid. All technical-grade terephthahc acid is produced by catalytic, hquid-phase air oxidation of xylene. Several processes have been developed, but they all use acetic acid as a solvent and a multivalent heavy metal or metals as catalysts. Cobalt is always used. In the most popular process, cobalt and manganese are the multivalent heavy-metal catalysts and bromine is the renewable source for free radicals (51,52). 

Of the three benzenetricarboxyhc acids, only trimellitic acid as the anhydride is commercially produced in large volume, by Hquid-phase air oxidation of either pseudocumene or dimethyl benzaldehyde. The pseudocumene oxidation is another variant of the cobalt—manganese—bromine catalyst in acetic acid solvent as described in the terephthaUc acid section. The acid is available as a laboratory chemical (99). The lUPAC name of trimellitic anhydride is 5-isobenzofurancarboxyhc acid (l,3-dihydro-l,3-dioxo). 

A method for the polymerization of polysulfones in nondipolar aprotic solvents has been developed and reported (9,10). The method reUes on phase-transfer catalysis. Polysulfone is made in chlorobenzene as solvent with (2.2.2)cryptand as catalyst (9). Less reactive crown ethers require dichlorobenzene as solvent (10). High molecular weight polyphenylsulfone can also be made by this route in dichlorobenzene however, only low molecular weight PES is achievable by this method. Cross-linked polystyrene-bound (2.2.2)cryptand is found to be effective in these polymerizations which allow simple recovery and reuse of the catalyst. 

Magnesium ethylate is used as a drying agent for organic solvents, as an intermediate for the manufacture of organomagnesium and other organic products, as catalyst in the Tishchenko (85) and other reactions (86—91), in the condensation of esters (92), in alkylation reactions, and in polymeri2ations (84,91). 

Catalysts. Silver and silver compounds are widely used in research and industry as catalysts for oxidation, reduction, and polymerization reactions. Silver nitrate has been reported as a catalyst for the preparation of propylene oxide (qv) from propylene (qv) (58), and silver acetate has been reported as being a suitable catalyst for the production of ethylene oxide (qv) from ethylene (qv) (59). The solubiUty of silver perchlorate in organic solvents makes it a possible catalyst for polymerization reactions, such as the production of butyl acrylate polymers in dimethylformamide (60) or the polymerization of methacrylamide (61). Similarly, the solubiUty of silver tetrafiuoroborate in organic solvents has enhanced its use in the synthesis of 3-pyrrolines by the cyclization of aHenic amines (62). 

Reaction and Heat-Transfer Solvents. Many industrial production processes use solvents as reaction media. Ethylene and propylene are polymerized in hydrocarbon solvents, which dissolves the gaseous reactant and also removes the heat of reaction. Because the polymer is not soluble in the hydrocarbon solvent, polymer recovery is a simple physical operation. Ethylene oxide production is exothermic and the catalyst-filled reaction tubes are surrounded by hydrocarbon heat-transfer duid. 

Chemical Properties. MSA combines high acid strength with low molecular weight. Its pK (laser Raman spectroscopy) is —1.9, about twice the acid strength of HCl and half the strength of sulfuric acid. MSA finds use as catalyst for esterification, alkylation, and in the polymerisation and curing of coatings (402,404,405). The anhydrous acid is also usefijl as a solvent. 

Solvent-soluble polymeric products of stmctures (1 3) can be obtained upon reaction of tetraaLkyl titanate, 2-methyl- -pentane-2,4-diol, and water in a 2 4 1 molar ratio (71). The tetraptimary glycol titanate complexes have been used as catalysts for the production of polyisocyanurates and polyoxa2ohdones (72). 

Use of alcohol as a solvent for carbonylation with reduced Pd catalysts gives vinyl esters. A variety of acrylamides can be made through oxidative addition of carbon monoxide [630-08-0] CO, and various amines to vinyl chloride in the presence of phosphine complexes of Pd or other precious metals as catalyst (14). 

Mild acid converts it to the product and ethanol. With the higher temperatures required of the cyano compound [1003-52-7] (15), the intermediate cycloadduct is converted direcdy to the product by elimination of waste hydrogen cyanide. Often the reactions are mn with neat Hquid reagents having an excess of alkene as solvent. Polar solvents such as sulfolane and /V-m ethyl -pyrrol i don e are claimed to be superior for reactions of the ethoxy compound with butenediol (53). Organic acids, phenols, maleic acid derivatives, and inorganic bases are suggested as catalysts (51,52,54,59,61,62) (Fig. 6). 

For more selective hydrogenations, supported 5—10 wt % palladium on activated carbon is preferred for reductions in which ring hydrogenation is not wanted. Mild conditions, a neutral solvent, and a stoichiometric amount of hydrogen are used to avoid ring hydrogenation. There are also appHcations for 35—40 wt % cobalt on kieselguhr, copper chromite (nonpromoted or promoted with barium), 5—10 wt % platinum on activated carbon, platinum (IV) oxide (Adams catalyst), and rhenium heptasulfide. Alcohol yields can sometimes be increased by the use of nonpolar (nonacidic) solvents and small amounts of bases, such as tertiary amines, which act as catalyst inhibitors. 

Palladium and platinum (5—10 wt % on activated carbon) can be used with a variety of solvents as can copper carbonate on siHca and 60 wt % nickel on kieselguhr. The same is tme of nonsupported catalysts copper chromite, rhenium (VII) sulfide, rhenium (VI) oxide, and any of the Raney catalysts, copper, iron, or nickel. 

Solution Process. With the exception of fibrous triacetate, practically all cellulose acetate is manufactured by a solution process using sulfuric acid catalyst with acetic anhydride in an acetic acid solvent. An excellent description of this process is given (85). In the process (Fig. 8), cellulose (ca 400 kg) is treated with ca 1200 kg acetic anhydride in 1600 kg acetic acid solvent and 28—40 kg sulfuric acid (7—10% based on cellulose) as catalyst. During the exothermic reaction, the temperature is controlled at 40—45°C to minimize cellulose degradation. After the reaction solution becomes clear and fiber-free and the desired viscosity has been achieved, sufficient aqueous acetic acid (60—70% acid) is added to destroy the excess anhydride and provide 10—15% free water for hydrolysis. At this point, the sulfuric acid catalyst may be partially neutralized with calcium, magnesium, or sodium salts for better control of product molecular weight. 

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