|
1
|
Zhang B, Yuan H, Liu Y, Deng Z, Douthwaite M, Dummer NF, Lewis RJ, Liu X, Luan S, Dong M, Wang T, Xu Q, Zhao Z, Liu H, Han B, Hutchings GJ. Ambient-pressure alkoxycarbonylation for sustainable synthesis of ester. Nat Commun 2024; 15:7837. [PMID: 39244602 PMCID: PMC11380687 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52163-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 08/26/2024] [Indexed: 09/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Alkoxycarbonylation reactions are common in the chemical industry, yet process sustainability is limited by the inefficient utilization of CO. In this study, we address this issue and demonstrate that significant improvements can be achieved by adopting a heterogeneously catalyzed process, using a Ru/NbOx catalyst. The Ru/NbOx catalyst enables the direct synthesis of methyl propionate, a key industrial commodity, with over 98% selectivity from CO, ethylene and methanol, without any ligands or acid/base promoters. Under ambient CO pressure, a high CO utilization efficiency (336 mmolestermolCO-1h-1) is achieved. Mechanistic investigations reveal that CO undergoes a methoxycarbonyl (COOCH3) intermediate pathway, attacking the terminal carbon atom of alkene and yielding linear esters. The origins of prevailing linear regioselectivity in esters are revealed. The infrared spectroscopic feature of the key COOCH3 species is observed at 1750 cm-1 (C=O vibration) both experimentally and computationally. The broad substrate applicability of Ru/NbOx catalyst for ester production is demonstrated. This process offers a sustainable and efficient approach with high CO utilization and atom economy for the synthesis of esters.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bin Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China
- Max Planck-Cardiff Centre on the Fundamentals of Heterogeneous Catalysis FUNCAT, Cardiff Catalysis Institute, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Haiyang Yuan
- Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hierarchical Nanomaterials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, 200237, Shanghai, China
| | - Ye Liu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China
- Laboratory of Living Materials at the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, 430070, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Zijie Deng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 101408, Beijing, China
| | - Mark Douthwaite
- Max Planck-Cardiff Centre on the Fundamentals of Heterogeneous Catalysis FUNCAT, Cardiff Catalysis Institute, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK.
| | - Nicholas F Dummer
- Max Planck-Cardiff Centre on the Fundamentals of Heterogeneous Catalysis FUNCAT, Cardiff Catalysis Institute, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Richard J Lewis
- Max Planck-Cardiff Centre on the Fundamentals of Heterogeneous Catalysis FUNCAT, Cardiff Catalysis Institute, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Xingwu Liu
- National Energy Center for Coal to Liquids, Synfuels China Co., Ltd, Huairou District, 101400, Beijing, China
| | - Sen Luan
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 101408, Beijing, China
| | - Minghua Dong
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 101408, Beijing, China
| | - Tianjiao Wang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 101408, Beijing, China
| | - Qingling Xu
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 101408, Beijing, China.
| | - Zhijuan Zhao
- Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China
| | - Huizhen Liu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China.
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 101408, Beijing, China.
| | - Buxing Han
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 101408, Beijing, China
| | - Graham J Hutchings
- Max Planck-Cardiff Centre on the Fundamentals of Heterogeneous Catalysis FUNCAT, Cardiff Catalysis Institute, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| |
Collapse
|
|
2
|
Xue F, Wang F, Liao M, Liu M, Hong Q, Li Z, Xia C, Wang J. Influences of Ru and ZrO 2 interaction on the hydroesterification of styrene. RSC Adv 2024; 14:11914-11920. [PMID: 38623300 PMCID: PMC11017194 DOI: 10.1039/d4ra00054d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Interfacial Lewis acid-base pairs are commonly found in ZrO2-supported metal catalysts due to the facile generation of oxygen vacancies of ZrO2. These pairs have been reported to play a crucial role in olefin hydroesterification, especially in the absence of acid promoters and ligands. In this study, a series of ZrO2-supported Ru catalysts with ruthenium(iii) chloride and ruthenium(iii) acetylacetonate as precursors were prepared for the styrene hydroesterification. The catalysts were thoroughly characterized by TPR, TEM, EPR, XPS, and FTIR. The Ru precursors significantly influenced the size and electronic properties of Ru clusters, albeit having minimal impact on oxygen vacancies. Mechanistic studies of styrene hydroesterification over ZrO2-supported Ru catalysts revealed that the carbon monoxide insertion followed the hydrogen transfer step to activated styrene. Higher activity is exhibited over ZrO2-supported Ru catalysts prepared with ruthenium(iii) chloride as a precursor, attributed to the lower adsorption strength of CO over Ru clusters, as evidenced by FTIR and DFT calculations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fei Xue
- State Key Laboratory for Oxo Synthesis and Selective Oxidation, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Lanzhou 730000 P. R. China
| | - Fang Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Oxo Synthesis and Selective Oxidation, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Lanzhou 730000 P. R. China
| | - Min Liao
- Ganzhou Branch of Jiangxi Tobacco Corporation Ganzhou 341000 P. R. China
| | - Mengli Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Oxo Synthesis and Selective Oxidation, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Lanzhou 730000 P. R. China
| | - Qunye Hong
- Zhengzhou Tobacco Research Institute of CNTC Zhengzhou 450001 P. R. China
| | - Zhen Li
- State Key Laboratory for Oxo Synthesis and Selective Oxidation, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Lanzhou 730000 P. R. China
| | - Chungu Xia
- State Key Laboratory for Oxo Synthesis and Selective Oxidation, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Lanzhou 730000 P. R. China
| | - Jinbang Wang
- Zhengzhou Tobacco Research Institute of CNTC Zhengzhou 450001 P. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
|
6
|
Huang X, Zhang K, Peng B, Wang G, Muhler M, Wang F. Ceria-Based Materials for Thermocatalytic and Photocatalytic Organic Synthesis. ACS Catal 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.1c02443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiubing Huang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Function Materials for Molecule & Structure Construction, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, No. 30 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 10083, PR China
| | - Kaiyue Zhang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Function Materials for Molecule & Structure Construction, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, No. 30 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 10083, PR China
| | - Baoxiang Peng
- Laboratory of Industrial Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44780 Bochum, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, Stiftstrasse 34−36, 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
| | - Ge Wang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Function Materials for Molecule & Structure Construction, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, No. 30 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 10083, PR China
| | - Martin Muhler
- Laboratory of Industrial Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44780 Bochum, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, Stiftstrasse 34−36, 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
| | - Feng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian, Liaoning 116023, PR China
| |
Collapse
|