Ambient-pressure alkoxycarbonylation for sustainable synthesis of ester

Bin Zhang, Haiyang Yuan, Ye Liu, Zijie Deng, Mark Douthwaite (), Nicholas F. Dummer, Richard J. Lewis, Xingwu Liu, Sen Luan, Minghua Dong, Tianjiao Wang, Qingling Xu (), Zhijuan Zhao, Huizhen Liu (), Buxing Han and Graham J. Hutchings
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Bin Zhang: CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Haiyang Yuan: Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hierarchical Nanomaterials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road
Ye Liu: CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zijie Deng: CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Mark Douthwaite: Cardiff Catalysis Institute, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University
Nicholas F. Dummer: Cardiff Catalysis Institute, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University
Richard J. Lewis: Cardiff Catalysis Institute, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University
Xingwu Liu: Synfuels China Co., Ltd, Huairou District
Sen Luan: CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Minghua Dong: CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Tianjiao Wang: CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qingling Xu: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhijuan Zhao: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Huizhen Liu: CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Buxing Han: CAS Laboratory of Colloid and Interface and Thermodynamics, Center for Carbon Neutral Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Graham J. Hutchings: Cardiff Catalysis Institute, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: 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.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52163-2

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