【摘要】 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, Guerbet反应路线步骤更少,且1-丁醇原位脱氢产生的氢为氢源,无需额外氢,因此比化石资源丙烯路线对环境友好.目前,文献报道的非均相催化1-丁醇Guerbet反应条件苛刻(如温度> 170 ℃),副产物多(如烯烃、醚和高碳醇等),且均相催化剂的活性低.本文报道了一类Cp*Ir(Cp*为1,2,3,4,5-五甲基环戊二烯基)配合物用于该Guerbet反应.当Cp*Ir配合物的配体上修饰给电子基N,N-二甲基氨基和邻羟基时, Cp*Ir配合物的催化活性增强,催化剂的转化数最高达到了14047.当氢氧化钾和Cp*Ir配合物(配体上修饰了N,N-二甲基氨基和邻羟基官能团)在1-丁醇中的浓度分别为1.7mol%和0.04wt%时,在130 ℃反应48 h,产物2-乙基己醇收率为23.9%,选择性为89.5%.核磁(NMR)研究结果表明, Cp*Ir配合物配体上的邻羟基与氢氧化钾反应脱除质子,生成了羰基结构配体配位的Cp*Ir配合物,继续催化1-丁醇脱氢反应.机理研究表明,中间产物2-乙基己醛α-碳上乙基的位阻效应和2-乙基己烯醛本身的共轭效应抑制了其继续发生羟醛反应,从而提高了目标产物的选择性.更多还原

【Abstract】 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 bipyridine-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.更多还原