电子和空间位阻效应促进铱配合物催化1-丁醇经Guerbet反应选择制备2-乙基己醇

2-乙基己醇是一种增塑剂醇,可用于合成增塑剂、表面活性剂和溶剂等诸多化工领域.目前工业上2-乙基己醇的合成是以化石资源丙烯为原料,与氢气和一氧化碳通过氢甲酰化反应制备1-丁醛,后者经羟醛缩合和催化加氢反应生成2-乙基己醇.由生物质发酵产生的1-丁醇为原料,只需要经Guerbet反应可一步直接生成2-乙基己醇.比较而言,...

Electronic and steric factors for enhanced selective synthesis of 2-ethyl-1-hexanol in the Ir-complex-catalyzed Guerbet reaction of 1-butanol

1-Butanol is a potential bio-based fermentation product obtained from cellulosic biomass. As a value-added chemical, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol (2-EH) can be produced by Guerbet conversion from 1-butanol. This work reports the enhanced catalytic Guerbet reaction of 1-butanol to 2-EH by a series of Cp*Ir complexes (Cp*: 1,2,3,4,5-pentamethylcyclopenta-1,3-diene) coordinated to bipyri-dine-type ligands bearing an ortho-hydroxypyridine group with an electron-donating group and a Cl? anion. The catalytic activity of the Cp*Ir complex increased by increasing the electron density of the bipyridine ligand when functionalized with the para-NMe2 and ortho-hydroxypyridine groups. A record turnover number of 14047 was attained. A mechanistic study indicated that the steric effect of the ethyl group on the α-C of 2-ethylhexanal (2-EHA) and the conjugation effect of C=C–C=O in 2-ethylhex-2-enal (2-EEA) benefits the high selectivity of 2-EH from 1-butanol by inhibiting the cross-aldol reaction of 2-EHA and 2-EEA with butyraldehyde. Nuclear magnetic resonance study revealed the formation of a carbonyl group in the bipyridine-type ligand via the reaction of the Cp*Ir complex with KOH.