Ruthenium‐Catalyzed Methanol Production from Aqueous Paraformaldehyde and Mechanistic Study
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: A series of water‐soluble arene‐Ru(II) complexes, [(η6‐p‐cymene)RuCl(L)]+Cl‒ ([Ru]‐7 – [Ru]‐12) (L = substituted bis‐imidazole methane) exhibited efficient and selective methanol production from paraformaldehyde in water. The findings inferred a crucial role of the ligand in tuning the catalytic performance. A pH‐dependent behavior of this series of catalysts was observed, where the amount of base was influential in methanol production from paraformaldehyde. The catalyst [Ru]‐7 (L1 = 4,4′‐((2‐hydroxyphenyl)methylene)bis(2‐ethyl‐5‐methyl‐1H‐imidazole) was the most efficient among the explored catalysts giving a turnover number (TON) of 1200 at 90 °C. A mechanistic cycle has also been proposed for the catalytic reaction based on the mass and NMR investigations including those using deuterium‐labelled molecules.
Source: ChemCatChem
Institution: Indian Institute of Technology Indore
Language: English
Subfield: Inorganic Chemistry
Field: Chemistry
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Award: G849735668
OpenAlex ID: W4405828549