Synthesis of dialkyl ethers by decarboxylation of dialkyl carbonates

The decarboxylation reaction of dialkyl carbonates to give their related ethers was investigated. The reaction was carried out at atmospheric pressure and in the presence of hydrotalcite or basic alumina as catalysts without any solvent. The influence of several reaction parameters on the selectivit...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Green chemistry : an international journal and green chemistry resource : GC 2008-01, Vol.10 (11), p.1182-1189
Main Authors: Tundo, Pietro, Aricò, Fabio, Rosamilia, Anthony E., Memoli, Sofia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aluminum oxide
Carbonates
Catalysis
Catalysts
Decarboxylation
Ethers
Pyrolysis
Solvents
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The decarboxylation reaction of dialkyl carbonates to give their related ethers was investigated. The reaction was carried out at atmospheric pressure and in the presence of hydrotalcite or basic alumina as catalysts without any solvent. The influence of several reaction parameters on the selectivity was studied (e.g. temperature, amount of catalyst, substrate concentration, solvent). The stability of the catalyst was also investigated. The experimental data for the decarboxylation confirmed that this reaction is complicated by competitive processes, such as dismutation and, in one case, pyrolysis. The results obtained show that in the presence of hydrotalcite as a catalyst, symmetrical dialkyl ethers can be synthesised with yields up to 80%. Dissymmetrical ethers (i.e. methyl alkyl ethers) can be produced with yields up to 80% at high temperature (250 [degree]C). The catalyst proved to be fully recyclable in all cases studied, except for the carbonate containing n-octyl moiety.
ISSN:1463-9262
1463-9270
DOI:10.1039/b809271k