Unprecedented Use of NHC Gold (I) Complexes as Catalysts for the Selective Oxidation of Ethane to Acetic Acid

The highly efficient eco-friendly synthesis of acetic acid (40% yield) directly from ethane is achieved by the unprecedented use of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) and N-heterocyclic oxo-carbene (NHOC) gold(I) catalysts in mild conditions. This is a selective and promising protocol to generate directly...

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Published inMaterials Vol. 14; no. 15; p. 4294
Main Authors Ribeiro, Ana P. C., Matias, Inês A. S., Zargaran, Poorya, Hashmi, A. Stephen K., Martins, Luísa M. D. R. S.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 31.07.2021
MDPI
Subjects
Acetic acid
Acids
Carbonyls
Catalysts
Catalytic oxidation
Ethane
ethane oxidation
Gold
green metrics
High temperature
Iridium
Ligands
NHC gold (I) complex
NHOC gold (I) complex
Nitrogen
Oxidation
Potassium
Rhodium
Japan
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Summary:The highly efficient eco-friendly synthesis of acetic acid (40% yield) directly from ethane is achieved by the unprecedented use of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) and N-heterocyclic oxo-carbene (NHOC) gold(I) catalysts in mild conditions. This is a selective and promising protocol to generate directly acetic acid from ethane, in comparison with the two most used methods: (i) the three-step, capital- and energy-intensive process based on the high-temperature conversion of methane to acetic acid; (ii) the current industrial methanol carbonylation processes, based in iridium and expensive rhodium catalysts. Green metrics determinations highlight the environmental advantages of the new ethane oxidation procedure. Comparison with previous reported published catalysts is performed to highlight the features of this remarkable protocol.
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ISSN:1996-1944
1996-1944
DOI:10.3390/ma14154294