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Title: A closed cycle Esterifying Aromatic Hydrocarbons with CO2 and Alcohol

Abstract

The ability to functionalize hydrocarbons with CO2 could create opportunities for high-volume CO2 utilization. Current methods to effect carbon–carbon bond-formation between hydrocarbons and CO2 require stoichiometric consumption of very resourceintensive reagents to overcome the low reactivity of these substrates1–7. Here, we report a two-step cycle that converts aromatic hydrocarbons, CO2, and alcohol into aromatic esters without consumption of stoichiometric reagents. Our strategy centers on the use of catalysts composed of an alkali carbonate (M2CO3, M+ = K+ or Cs+) dispersed over a mesoporous support. We show that nanoscale confinement disrupts the crystallinity of M2CO3 and engenders strong base reactivity at intermediate temperatures. The two steps of the semicontinuous cycle are: 1) CO32–-promoted C–H carboxylation, in which the hydrocarbon substrate is deprotonated by the supported M2CO3 and reacts with CO2 to form a supported carboxylate (RCO2M); and 2) methylation, in which RCO2M reacts with methanol and CO2 to form an isolable methyl ester with concomitant regeneration of M2CO3. Using M2CO3 supported on mesoporous TiO2 (M2CO3/TiO2), we show that the cycle can be iterated at least 10 times without any apparent loss in activity. Moreover, C–H carboxylation is readily achieved when M2CO3 is dispersed on other mesoporous materials (ZrO2, Al2O3, carbon), providingmore » multiple avenues for catalyst improvement. Our results demonstrate a way to valorize CO2 using gas–solid reactions mediated by abundant materials.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [3];  [1]; ORCiD logo [3];  [1]
  1. Stanford University
  2. STANFORD UNIVERSITY
  3. BATTELLE (PACIFIC NW LAB)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1577051
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-144281
DOE Contract Number:  
AC05-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Nature Chemistry
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 11; Journal Issue: 10
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Citation Formats

Xiao, Dianne J., Chant, Emma D., Frankhouser, Amy D., Chen, Ying, Yau, Allison, Washton, Nancy M., and Kanan, Matthew W. A closed cycle Esterifying Aromatic Hydrocarbons with CO2 and Alcohol. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1038/s41557-019-0313-y.
Xiao, Dianne J., Chant, Emma D., Frankhouser, Amy D., Chen, Ying, Yau, Allison, Washton, Nancy M., & Kanan, Matthew W. A closed cycle Esterifying Aromatic Hydrocarbons with CO2 and Alcohol. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0313-y
Xiao, Dianne J., Chant, Emma D., Frankhouser, Amy D., Chen, Ying, Yau, Allison, Washton, Nancy M., and Kanan, Matthew W. 2019. "A closed cycle Esterifying Aromatic Hydrocarbons with CO2 and Alcohol". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0313-y.
@article{osti_1577051,
title = {A closed cycle Esterifying Aromatic Hydrocarbons with CO2 and Alcohol},
author = {Xiao, Dianne J. and Chant, Emma D. and Frankhouser, Amy D. and Chen, Ying and Yau, Allison and Washton, Nancy M. and Kanan, Matthew W.},
abstractNote = {The ability to functionalize hydrocarbons with CO2 could create opportunities for high-volume CO2 utilization. Current methods to effect carbon–carbon bond-formation between hydrocarbons and CO2 require stoichiometric consumption of very resourceintensive reagents to overcome the low reactivity of these substrates1–7. Here, we report a two-step cycle that converts aromatic hydrocarbons, CO2, and alcohol into aromatic esters without consumption of stoichiometric reagents. Our strategy centers on the use of catalysts composed of an alkali carbonate (M2CO3, M+ = K+ or Cs+) dispersed over a mesoporous support. We show that nanoscale confinement disrupts the crystallinity of M2CO3 and engenders strong base reactivity at intermediate temperatures. The two steps of the semicontinuous cycle are: 1) CO32–-promoted C–H carboxylation, in which the hydrocarbon substrate is deprotonated by the supported M2CO3 and reacts with CO2 to form a supported carboxylate (RCO2M); and 2) methylation, in which RCO2M reacts with methanol and CO2 to form an isolable methyl ester with concomitant regeneration of M2CO3. Using M2CO3 supported on mesoporous TiO2 (M2CO3/TiO2), we show that the cycle can be iterated at least 10 times without any apparent loss in activity. Moreover, C–H carboxylation is readily achieved when M2CO3 is dispersed on other mesoporous materials (ZrO2, Al2O3, carbon), providing multiple avenues for catalyst improvement. Our results demonstrate a way to valorize CO2 using gas–solid reactions mediated by abundant materials.},
doi = {10.1038/s41557-019-0313-y},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1577051}, journal = {Nature Chemistry},
number = 10,
volume = 11,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Oct 28 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Mon Oct 28 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}

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