Improvement on stability of square planar rhodium (I) complexes for carbonylation of methanol to acetic acid

A series of square planar cis-dicarbonyl polymer coordinated rhodium complexes with uncoordinated donors near the central rhodium atoms for carbonylation of methanol to acetic acid are reported. Data of IR, XPS and thermal analysis show that these complexes are very stable. The intramolecular substitution reaction is proposed for their high stability. These complexes show excellent catalytic activity, selectivity and less erosion to the equipment for the methanol carbonylation to acetic acid. The distillation process may be used instead of flash vaporization in the manufacture of acetic acid, which reduces the investment on the equipment. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 29574186).