Product oriented oxidative bromination of methane over Rh/SiO_2 catalysts

Rh/SiO2 was prepared for the oxidative bromination of methane. The catalyst was prepared by calcination at different temperatures and for different times to obtain catalysts with different specific surface areas for the purposes of producing either CH3Br or CH3Br and CO. It was found that the catalyst having a low specific surface area (calcined at relatively high temperature) favors the selective oxidation of methane to prepare CH3Br, while the catalyst having a high specific surface area favors the deeper partial oxidation of methane, which is good for CH3Br and CO preparation.The 650 h on stream life-time test revealed that the catalytic performance of the 0.4Rh/SiO2-900-10 catalyst was excellent.Both methane conversion and CH3Br selectivity kept increasing trends during the life-time test.No matter how serious was the Rh leaching during the reaction,the 0.4Rh/SiO2-900-10 catalyst did not deactivate at all.     

Product oriented oxidative bromination of methane over Rh/SiO2 catalysts

Rh/SiO2 was prepared for the oxidative bromination of methane. The catalyst was prepared by calcination at different temperatures and for different times to obtain catalysts with different specific surface areas for the purposes of producing either CH3Br or CH3Br and CO. It was found that the catalyst having a low specific surface area (calcined at relatively high temperature) favors the selective oxidation of methane to prepare CH3Br, while the catalyst having a high specific surface area favors the deeper partial oxidation of methane, which is good for CH3Br and CO preparation. The 650 h on stream life-time test revealed that the catalytic performance of the 0.4Rh/SiO2--900-10 catalyst was excellent. Both methane conversion and CH3Br selectivity kept increasing trends during the life-time test. No matter how serious was the Rh leaching during the reaction, the 0.4Rh/SiO2--900-10 catalyst did not deactivate at all.     

Regioselective bromination of organic substrates by tetrabutylammonium bromide promoted by V2O5-H2O2: an environmentally favorable synthetic protocol

[reaction: see text] Vanadium pentoxide very effectively promotes the bromination of organic substrates, including selective bromination of some aromatics, by tetrabutylammonium bromide in the presence of hydrogen peroxide; mild conditions, high selectivity, yield, and reaction rate, and redundancy of bromine and hydrobromic acid are some of the major advantages of the synthetic protocol.     

Direct coupling of bromine-mediated methane activation and carbon-deposit gasification.

The direct bromination of methane offers a quite selective (>98 %) route towards methane activation but shifts the problem of fuel production to converting and handling corrosive methyl bromide. The direct conversion of methyl bromide, at about 200 degrees C, into light hydrocarbons can be catalyzed under pressure by AlBr(3) resulting in the formation of propane-rich mixtures of light hydrocarbons, carbonaceous deposits, and HBr. After releasing the gaseous products, the addition of hydrogen at 260 degrees C allows a quantitative conversion of the carbonaceous deposits into the same range of light hydrocarbons. These second-stage products efficiently contribute to the overall process yield while enabling a full regeneration of the catalyst's activity. This oxygen-free process is compared to the conversion of methyl bromide on zeolites and the currently used methanol-to-gasoline (MTG) process in terms of product distributions and apparent energy of activation. A detailed chemical analysis of the intermediates revealed the presence of a carbon pool consisting of highly substituted benzene and cyclopentadiene derivatives, as observed on zeolites used in the MTG process. This similarity suggests that the currently used oxygen-based syngas/MTG process for methane conversion may be extended to a bromine-mediated process by using methyl bromide as an intermediate instead of methanol.     

Regioselective bromination of arenes mediated by triphosgene-oxidized bromide

This article first time describes triphosgene (BTC) as an oxidant while the non-toxic and easy-to-handle potassium bromide (KBr) as the source of bromine to the bromination reaction of aromatic substrates. The novel brominating protocol gives excellent para-regioselectivity of the alkoxyl/hydroxyl arenes and high yield, offering good potential of commercial scale applications. The mechanism of “Triphosgene oxidize bromide” was proposed.     

Partial oxidation of 4-tert-butyltoluene catalyzed by homogeneous cobalt and cerium acetate catalysts in the Br-/H2O2/acetic acid system: insights into selectivity and mechanism

The partial oxidation of 4-tert-butyltoluene to 4-tert-butylbenzaldehyde by hydrogen peroxide in glacial acetic acid, catalyzed by bromide ions in combination with cobalt(II) acetate or cerium(III) acetate, has been studied in detail. Based on the observed differences in reaction rates and product distributions for the different catalysts, a reaction mechanism involving two independent pathways is proposed. After the initial formation of a benzylic radical species, either oxidation of this intermediate by the metal catalyst or reaction with bromine generated in situ occurs, depending on which catalyst is used. The first pathway leads to the exclusive formation of 4-tert-butylbenzaldehyde, whereas reaction of the radical intermediate with bromine leads to formation of the observed side products 4-tert-butylbenzyl bromide and its hydrolysis and solvolysis products 4-tert-butylbenzyl alcohol and 4-tert-butylbenzyl acetate, respectively. The cobalt(II) catalysts Co(OAc)(2) and Co(acac)(2) are able to quickly oxidize the radical intermediate, thereby largely preventing the bromination reaction (i.e., side-product formation) from occurring, and yield the aldehyde product with 75-80 % selectivity. In contrast, the cerium catalyst studied here exhibits an aldehyde selectivity of around 50 % due to the competing bromination reaction. Addition of extra hydrogen peroxide leads to an increased product yield of 72 % (cerium(III) acetate) or 58 % (cobalt(II) acetate). Product inhibition and the presence of increasing amounts of water in the reaction mixture do not play a role in the observed low incremental yields.     

Europium Oxybromide Catalysts for Efficient Bromine Looping in Natural Gas Valorization

The industrialization of bromine‐mediated natural gas upgrading is contingent on the ability to fully recycle hydrogen bromide (HBr), which is the end form of the halogen after the activation and coupling of the alkanes. Europium oxybromide (EuOBr) is introduced as a unique catalytic material to close the bromine loop via HBr oxidation, permitting low‐temperature operation and long lifetimes with a stoichiometric feed (O₂:HBr=0.25)—conditions at which any catalyst reported to date severely deactivates because of excessive bromination. Besides, EuOBr exhibits unparalleled selectivity to methyl bromide in methane oxybromination, which is an alternative route for bromine looping. This novel active phase is finely dispersed on appropriate carriers and scaled up to technical extrudates, enhancing the utilization of the europium phase while preserving the performance. This catalytic system paves the way for sustainable valorization of stranded natural gas via bromine chemistry.     

Free radical bromination by the H2O2-HBr system on water

An aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide and hydrogen bromide illuminated by a 40 W incandescent light bulb serves as a source of bromine radicals. Various substituted toluenes (H, Me, tBu, Br, COOEt, COPh, NO₂) were brominated at the benzyl position. This haloperoxidase-like system for benzylic bromination does not require the presence of metal ions or an organic solvent for efficient conversion of methyl-arenes to benzyl bromides.     

Liquid phase bromination of aromatics over zeolite H-beta catalyst

The liquid phase bromination of chlorobenzene, toluene and xylenes (o-, m-, p-) is catalyzed using zeolite as catalyst and N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) as the brominating agent. In addition, the bromination of toluene has been investigated over various zeolites using both NBS and liquid Br₂ as brominating agents. A comparison under similar reaction conditions with H₂SO₄, in the absence of catalyst and FeCl₃ (in the case of toluene) is also investigated for each reaction. Zeolite H-beta is found to be selective compared to the conventional catalysts and other zeolites in the bromination of chlorobenzene and toluene whereas selectivity for 4-bromo-o-xylene (4-BOX/3-BOX) over H-beta and H₂SO₄ was found nearly comparable in the bromination of o-xylene. In the bromination of toluene, acidic H-beta favours the formation of nuclear products whereas in the absence of any catalyst, in the presence of weakly acidic H–Y and potassium exchanged zeolites K-beta and K–L, the concentration of side-chain product, œ-bromotoluene, is enhanced. The conversion of NBS, rate of NBS conversion (mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹) and selectivity for products are strongly influenced by the reaction parameters. As the reaction time, catalyst amount, reaction temperature and molar ratios of NBS/toluene are increased, an increase in the conversion of NBS is noticed. Presumably, the catalytic bromination of aromatics proceeds by an electrophile (Br⁺) which is generated by the heterolytic cleavage of NBS/Br₂ by an acidic zeolite. Thus, the generated Br⁺ attacks the aromatic ring resulting in the formation of brominated nuclear products.     

Steric strain and reactivity: electrophilic bromination of trans-(1-methyl-2-adamantylidene)-1-methyladamantane

trans-(1-Methyl-2-adamantylidene)-1-methyladamantane (DMAD, 1b) reacts with Br(2) in chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents to give either a bromonium polybromide ion pair or a substitution product, depending on bromine concentration. The first intermediate is a 1:1 pi-complex having K(f) = 1.85(0.19) x 10(3) M(-)(1) at 25 degrees C, which rapidly evolves to the bromonium tribromide ion pair. At high bromine concentration, which shifts all equilibria involving the counteranion of the ion pair intermediate toward the pentabromide species, this bromonium ion is stable and unable to further evolve into products. Temperature-dependent NMR spectra indicate chemical exchange of Br(+) between the sides of the plane containing the two carbons of the bromonium ion. At very low bromine concentration, no ionic intermediate is detected and the reaction rapidly yields a rearranged substitution product, identified as 10. Under these conditions the disappearance of the pi-complex follows a first-order rate law, and the observed rate constant increases with increasing olefin concentration, showing that product formation implies Br(-) as counteranion of the ionic intermediate, whose formation is a reversible process. A comparison of the results reported here for the bromination of 1b with those previously found for the parent olefin, adamantylideneadamantane (1a), shows that steric strain markedly affects the reactivity of the double bond.     

Synthesis and bromination/dehydrobromination of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N,N</Emphasis>-diallyltrifluoromethanesulfonamide

The reaction of triflluoromethanesulfonamide with allyl bromide in dimethyl sulfoxide gave N,N-diallyltrifluoromethanesulfonamide which was subjected to bromination with 1 and 2 equiv of bromine. The product of bromine addition to both allyl groups, CF₃SO₂N(CH₂CHBrCH₂Br)₂, was found to exist as a mixture of two diastereoisomers at a ratio of 9: 11. Its dehydrobromination by the action of sodium methoxide was chemoselective with successive elimination of one, two, and three hydrogen bromide molecules to afford N-(2-bromoprop-2-en-1-yl)-N-(2,3-dibromopropyl)trifluoromethanesulfonamide, N,N-bis(2-bromoprop-2-en-1-yl)trifluoromethanesulfonamide, and N-(2-bromoprop-2-en-1-yl)-N-(propadienyl)trifluoromethanesulfonamide, respectively.     

Kinetic Modeling of Plasma Methane Conversion Using Gliding Arc

Plasma methane (CH4) conversion in gliding arc discharge was examined. The result data of experiments regarding the performance of gliding arc discharge were presented in this paper. A simulation which is consisted some chemical kinetic mechanisms has been provided to analyze and describe the plasma process. The effect of total gas flow rate and input frequency refers to power consumption have been studied to evaluate the performance of gliding arc plasma system and the reaction mechanism of decomposition.Experiment results indicated that the maximum conversion of CH4 reached 50% at the total gas flow rate of 1 L/min. The plasma reaction was occurred at the atmospheric pressure and the main products were C (solid), hydrogen, and acetylene (C2H2). The plasma reaction of methane conversion was exothermic reaction which increased the product stream temperature around 30～50℃.     

Nuclear Versus Side-Chain Bromination of 4-Methoxy Toluene by an Electrochemical Method

The electrochemical bromination of 4-methoxy toluene by two-phase electrolysis yields 3-bromo 4-methoxy toluene at first, which subsequently undergoes side-chain bromination to give 3-bromo 4-methoxy benzyl bromide as a final product in 86% yield. The two-phase electrolysis consists of 25–50% NaBr as aqueous electrolyte and CHCl₃ containing aromatic compound as organic phase. The reaction temperature is maintained at 10–25 °C. The probable orientation of bromine atom in an alkyl aromatic compound (nuclear versus side chain) is explained from the experimental result.     

Electrophilic acetylation and bromination reactions of benzo[b]naphtho[2,3-e][1,4]dioxin

The reactivity of benzo[b]naphtho[2,3-e][1,4]dioxin in the electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions has been studied. Friedel-Crafts acetylation resulted in the formation of three out of the possible five monoacetylated products, with the acetyl group located in positions 8 (major), 7 and 6 (minor) of the heterocycle. In the bromination reaction a higher selectivity was observed with the 6-bromo derivative found as the only monobrominated product and the 6,11-dibromo derivative found as the only polybrominated product. A ratio of unreacted heterocycle:6-bromo:6,11-dibromo derivatives in the bromination reaction has been found to depend strongly on the reaction conditions and on the heterocycle:bromine ratio.     

Mechanistic aspects of the bromination of 10-substituted phenothiazines

The addition of 1 and 2 molar equivalents of bromine to a series of 10-alkylphenothiazines, 1a-d (methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, and isopropyl, respectively), yields the corresponding 3-bromo- and 3,7-dibromo-10-alkylphenothiazines ( 11a-d and 12a-d , respectively). Evidence which supports the typical clectrophilic aromatic substitution mechanism is presented. Radical cations ( 12a-d^.+ ) arc produced when 12a-d are treated with 1 or 2 molar equivalents of bromine. Upon boiling in acetic acid these radical cations are converted predominantly to 1,3,7,9-lelrabromophenothiazine ( 5 ) and the parent 3,7-dibromo-10-alkylphenothiazine ( 12a-d ) with the evolution of hydrogen bromide. The 10-methyl radical ( 12a ) gives, in addition, 1,3,7-tribromo-10-methylphenothiazine ( 15 ). A mechanism if proposed for these reactions in which initial dealkylution of 12b-d^.+ to 3.7-dibromophenothiazine radical cation ( 13 ) occurs followed by reduction of 13^.+ by bromide ion to parent 3,7-dibromophenothiazine ( 13 ). Subsequent bromination of 13 by molecular bromine produced in the previous redox reaction yields 1,3,7-tribromo-( 14 ) and 1,3,7,9-tetra-bromo-( 5 ) phenothiazines. The small size of the methyl group allows 12a to be brominated at the 1-position prior to dealkylation. In addition to undergoing bromination at the 3- and 7-position, 10-isopropylphenothiazine ( 1d ) is oxidized to the radical cation 12e^.+ when treated with bromine. 10-Benzylphenothiazine ( 1e ), however, undergoes oxidation to radical cation 1e^.+ exclusively. This radical cation debenzylates readily at room temperature and is converted finally into phenothiazine.     

Selective bromination of dihydroquinopimaric acid

The reaction of dihydroquinopimaric acid methyl ester with bromine was found to be chemo- and stereoselective. Regardless of the solvent (acetic acid, methanol, dioxane), bromination of the title compound with an equimolar amount of bromine occurs as electrophilic addition at the double C¹⁹=C²⁰ bond with formation of 14α-hydroxy- or 14α-methoxy-19R-bromo derivatives. The reaction with excess bromine (3 equiv) leads to the formation of 16S-bromo derivatives. The bromination process is accompanied by formation of epoxy bridge between the C¹⁴ and C²⁰ atoms. X-Ray analysis revealed two polymorphic modifications of (16S,19R)-16,19-dibromo-14β,20-epoxydihydroquinopimaric acid methyl ester.     

Modeling the oxidative coupling of methane： Heterogeneous chemistry coupled with 3D flow field simulation

The oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) over titanate perovskite catalyst has been developed by three-dimensional numerical simulations of flow field coupled with heat transfer as well as heterogeneous kinetic model. The reaction was assumed to take place both in the gas phase and on the catalytic surface. Kinetic rate constants were experimentally obtained using a ten step kinetic model. The simulation results agree quite well with the data of OCM experiments, which were used to investigate the effect of temperature on the selectivity and conversion obtained in the methane oxidative coupling process. The conversion of methane linearly increased with temperature and the selectivity of C2 was practically constant in the temperature range of 973–1073 K. The study shows that CFD tools make it possible to implement the heterogeneous kinetic model even for high exothermic reaction such as OCM.     

C-6 regioselective bromination of methyl indolyl-3-acetate

An efficient route to natural occurring methyl 6-bromoindolyl-3-acetate 1c from methyl indolyl-3-acetate 3 was achieved in 3 steps and 68% overall yield. Thus, in order to regioselectively brominate 3 at the C6-position, introduction of electron withdrawing substituents at N1 and C8 was affected to give intermediate 4 in 82% yield. Bromination of 4 with 8 equiv of bromine in CCl4 and washings with aqueous Na2SO3 gave 5 in 86% yield, which was N- and C-decarbomethoxylated by treatment with NaCN in DMSO, affording 1c in 97% yield. The regioselectivity of bromination was evidenced by NMR spectroscopy and X- ray diffraction analysis.     

Vanadium haloperoxidase-catalyzed bromination and cyclization of terpenes

Marine red algae (Rhodophyta) are a rich source of bioactive halogenated natural products, including cyclic terpenes. The biogenesis of certain cyclic halogenated marine natural products is thought to involve marine haloperoxidase enzymes. Evidence is presented that vanadium bromoperoxidase (V-BrPO) isolated and cloned from marine red algae that produce halogenated compounds (e.g., Plocamium cartilagineum, Laurencia pacifica, Corallina officinalis) can catalyze the bromination and cyclization of terpenes and terpene analogues. The V-BrPO-catalyzed reaction with the monoterpene nerol in the presence of bromide ion and hydrogen peroxide produces a monobromo eight-membered cyclic ether similar to laurencin, a brominated C15 acetogenin, from Laurencia glandulifera, along with noncyclic bromohydrin, epoxide, and dibromoproducts; however, reaction of aqueous bromine with nerol produced only noncyclic bromohydrin, epoxide, and dibromoproducts. The V-BrPO-catalyzed reaction with geraniol in the presence of bromide ion and hydrogen peroxide produces two singly brominated six-membered cyclic products, analogous to the ring structures of alpha and beta snyderols, brominated sesquiterpenes from Laurencia, spp., along with noncyclic bromohydrin, epoxide, and dibromoproducts; again, reaction of geraniol with aqueous bromine produces only noncyclic bromohydrin, epoxide, and dibromoproducts. Thus, V-BrPO can direct the electrophilic bromination and cyclization of terpenes.     

Efficient,facile metal free protocols for the bromination of commercially important deactivated aminoanthracene-9,10-diones

Highly efficient, mild synthetic protocols were developed for the oxidative bromination of deactivated aminoanthracene-9,10-diones by using H₂O₂-HBr and m-CPBA-HBr in methanolic medium. Both the protocols offer excellent bromine atom economy, good conversion (100%) along with high yield (82–93%) and high purity of desired product. The N-alkylated amines undergo regio-selective bromination to give selective p-bromo product. The commercial availability of all the starting materials, simple reaction procedure and ease of work up, and easily amenable for scale up demonstrated commercial feasibility of both the protocols.