Premium
Cobaltcarbonyl Complexes — Tunable Catalysts for the Carbonylation of Epoxides
Author(s) -
Allmendinger Markus,
Eberhardt Robert,
Luinstra Gerrit A.,
Molnar Ferenc,
Rieger Bernhard
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
zeitschrift für anorganische und allgemeine chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.354
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1521-3749
pISSN - 0044-2313
DOI - 10.1002/zaac.200300054
Subject(s) - propylene oxide , carbonylation , catalysis , chemistry , epoxide , polyester , regioselectivity , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , propane , carbon monoxide , oxide , copolymer , polymer , ethylene oxide
Poly(hydroxyalkanoates) establish an important family of thermoplastic materials which can be synthesized from epoxides and CO either directly through a recently discovered, alternating copolymerization reaction or via a lactone intermediate. A mixture of Co(acac) 3 and Et 3 Al is a known but poorly understood catalyst system for the formation of low molecular weight PHB (polyhydroxybutyrate) from propylene oxide and CO. We investigated this catalyst system by online ATR‐IR spectroscopy and found it to produce mixtures of β‐butyrolactone (primary product) and polyester. In contrast to this less selective mixture we present here a new catalyst comprising Co 2 (CO) 8 / R 3 Al for the highly chemo‐ and regioselective β‐butyrolactone formation from propylene oxide and carbon monoxide.