Carbonylation of polychlorinated biphenyls over cobalt carbonyl catalyst modified with propylene oxide

The positional and substrate selectivities in the carbonylation of polychlorinated biphenyls in the catalytic system cobalt carbonyl-1,2-epoxypropane-base were studied. No direct relation was found between the degree of chlorination of the initial compounds and the reaction rate. The rate and selectivity of carbonylation are determined by radical anion mechanism of the substrate activation stage and by the presence of halogen atoms in the ortho-positions of polychlorinated biphenyl molecules.