PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF ESTERS OF ALPHA-ETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED ALCOHOLS AND ALPHA-ETHYLENICALLY UNSATURATED CARBOXYLIC ACIDS

Abstract: Process for the preparation of esters of alpha-­ ethylenically unsaturated alcohols and alpha-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids by reacting an acetylenically unsaturated compound with CO and a ketone containing a group HC-C(=O), using a Pd(II) catalyst, a triphenylphosphine in which the phenyl groups carry an electron-withdrawing substituent and a non-carboxylic protonic acid having a pK a not greater than 1.5.

Description: The invention relates to a process for the preparation of esters of alpha-ethylenically unsaturated alcohols and alpha-­ ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids. The esters mentioned hereinbefore may be used as a starting material for the preparation of polymers. It has now sur­ prisingly been found that such esters can be prepared with high selectivity and in an acceptable yield using relatively simple starting compounds. The invention, therefore, provides a process for the preparation of esters of alpha-ethylenically unsaturated alcohols and alpha-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids, which process comprises causing an acetylenically unsaturated compound to react with carbon monoxide and an enolizable ketone in the presence of a catalytic system formed by combining:- a) a palladium catalyst, b) a phosphine having the general formula I in which R¹, R² and R³ each individually represent a phenyl group carrying an electron-withdrawing substituent, and c) a non-carboxylic protonic acid having a pK a not greater than 1.5 (measured at 18 °C in aqueous solution). The reaction may schematically be represented by means of the following equation: in which the hydroxy compound represents the enolized form of a ketone having the structure; The carbon atoms marked with an asterisk are the same carbon atoms. The acetylenically unsaturated compound is preferably an optionally substituted alkyne having in the range of from 2 to 30 carbon atoms and in particular 2 to 10 carbon atoms per mole­ cule, and preferably 1 to 3 carbon-carbon triple bonds per molecule. Very good results have been obtained with propyne. The acetylenically unsaturated compound may be substituted, for instance with one or more halogen atoms, or cyano, ester, alkoxy or aryl groups. Examples of suitable acetylenically unsaturated compounds are ethyne, 1-butyne, 2-butyne, 1-pentyne, 1-hexyne, 1-heptyne, 1-octyne, 1-nonyne, 1-decyne, benzylethyne and cyclohexylethyne. The enolizable ketone should have a hydrogen atom bound to a carbon atom adjacent to the carbonyl group. A wide variety of enolizable ketones may be used. The enolizable ketone may have optionally substituted alkyl, optionally substituted cycloalkyl or optionally substituted aryl groups bound to the carbonyl group. Preference is given to alkanones, two optionally sub­ stituted alkyl groups being bound to the carbonyl group; the optionally substituted alkanones suitably have in the range of from 3 to 30 carbon atoms per molecule. Particularly preferred are methyl alkyl ketones having in the range of from 3 to 30 carbon atoms per molecule; among the latter ketones those having 3 or 4 carbon atoms per molecule, viz. acetone and methyl ethyl ketone, are preferred. Enolizable alkyl phenyl ketones may also be used, for instance acetophenone. Other examples of suitable enolizable ketones are methyl butyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, diheptyl ketone, dioctyl ketone, 3-butylheptyl ethyl ketone, methyl cyclohexyl ketone and ethyl phenyl ketone. Enolizable ketones which are symmetric with respect to the carbonyl group yield one ester of an alpha-ethylenically un­ saturated alcohol and an alpha-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid. Enolizable ketones which are not symmetric with respect to the carbonyl group and in which ketones the two carbon atoms bound to the carbonyl group each carry a hydrogen atom yield two different esters of the same alpha-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid, two different enolized forms being possible. Both homogenous and heterogeneous palladium catalysts may be used in the process according to the invention. Homogeneous catalysts are preferred. The palladium catalyst preferably contains a compound of divalent palladium. Suitable homogeneous catalysts are the salts of palladium with, for example, nitric acid, sulphuric acid or, particularly, alkanoic acids; among the alkanoic acids those having not more than 12 carbon atoms per molecule are preferred. Very good results have been obtained with palladium acetate. Moreover, palladium complexes may be used, for instance palladium acetylacetonate, tetrakistriphenyl­ phosphinepalladium, bis-tri-o-tolylphosphinepalladium acetate or bistriphenylphosphinepalladium sulphate. Palladium on charcoal and bonded to an ion exchanger - for instance an ion exchanger comprising sulphonic acid groups - is an example of a suitable heterogeneous catalyst. The three phenyl groups carrying an electron-withdrawing substituent, represented by R¹, R² and R³ in the general formula I may be different but are preferably the same. Preferred electron-withdrawing substituents are halogen atoms, viz. iodine, bromine, chlorine and fluorine atoms. Very good results have been obtained with tri(p-chlorophenyl)phosphine. Other examples of electron-withdrawing substituents are monochloro­ methyl, trichloromethyl, trifluoromethyl, nitro and m-methoxy groups. Other examples of phosphines are tri(m-trifluoromethyl­ phenyl)phoshine and tri(m-chlorophenyl)phosphine. The non-carboxylic protonic acid having a pK a not greater than 1.5 preferably has a non-coordinating anion, by which is meant that little or no covalent interaction takes place between the palladium and the anion (cf. British patent application No. 2,058,074). Typical examples of such anions are PF₆ - , SbF₆ - , BF₄ - and ClO₄ - . Preferred acids are sulphonic acids and acids that can be formed, possibly in situ, by interacting a Lewis acid such as, for example, BF₃, AsF₅, SbF₅, PF₅, TaF₅ or NbF₅ with a Broensted acid such as, for example, a hydrogen halide, in particular HF, or fluorosulphonic acid, orthophosphoric acid or sulphuric acid. Specific examples of acids of the latter type are fluorosilicic acid, HBF₄, HPF₆ and HSbF₆. Examples of usable sulphonic acids are fluorosulphonic acid and chlorosulphonic acid and the hereinafter specified sulphonic acids. A preferred group of non-carboxylic protonic acids having a pK a not greater than 1.5 are those having the general formula II wherein Z represents sulphur or chlorine and, if Z is chlorine, R⁴ represents oxygen and, if Z is sulphur, R⁴ represents an OH group or an optionally substituted hydrocarbon group. When the hereinbefore-stated acids of the general formula II are used in the process according to the invention, the anions thereof can be considered to be non-coordinating. The optionally substituted hydrocarbon group represented by R⁴ is preferably an alkyl, aryl, aralkyl or alkaryl group having 1 to 30, in particular 1 to 14, carbon atoms. The hydrocarbon group may be substituted, for example with halogen atoms, in particular fluorine atoms. Examples of suitable acids of the general formula II are perchloric acid, sulphuric acid, 2-­ hydroxypropane-2-sulphonic acid, benzenesulphonic acid, 1-naphthalenesulphonic acid, 2-naphthalenesulphonic acid, p-toluenesulphonic acid and trifluoromethanesulphonic acid, p-toluenesulphonic acid being the most preferred. The quantity of the compound of divalent palladium to be used in the process according to the invention is not critical and may vary within wide limits. Preference is given to the use of quantities in the range between 10⁻⁵ and 10⁻¹ gram atom palladium per mol of compound of the general formula II. The molar ratio of organic phosphine to palladium is not critical and may vary within wide limits. If less than 5 mol of the organic phosphine are used per gram atom of palladium, selectivity to compounds of the general formula I is still very high, but the reaction rate is moderate. Very high selectivities and very high reaction rates are obtained when more than 5 and in particular more than 20 mol of the phosphine having the general formula I are used per gram atom of palladium. In general, more than 500 mol of phosphine per gram atom of palladium need not be used. The number of equivalents of the phosphine having the general formula I which is used per equivalent of non-carboxylic protonic acid having a pK a not greater than 1.5 is not critical and may vary within wide limits. This number of equivalents is suitably in the range of from 0.5 to 50. A side reaction which may occur is the reaction of 2 mol of the acetylenically unsaturated compound with CO with formation of the acetylenically and ethylenically unsaturated ketones, which is subject matter of Applicant's British patent application ........ filed on even date. This side reaction is considerably reduced when the said member of equivalents of the phosphine is higher than 1.0. Said number is suitably in the range of from 1.0 to 20. A separate solvent is not essential in the process according to the invention, and often a large excess of one of the reactants, usually the ketone may form a convenient liquid phase. However, it may in some cases be desirable to use a separate solvent and any inert solvent may be used. A suitable solvent may, for example, be selected from aromatic hydrocarbons, for example benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and the three xylenes; sulphoxides, for example dimethyl sulphoxide and diethyl sulphoxide; sulphones, for example diisopropyl sulphone and tetrahydrothiophene 1,1-dioxide (also referred to as "sulfolane") and ethers, for example anisole, 2,5,8-trioxanonane (also referred to as "diglyme"), diphenyl ether and diisopropyl ether. In the process according to the invention the carbon monoxide may be used pure or diluted with an inert gas, such as nitrogen, noble gases or carbon dioxide. Generally, the presence of more than 10% by volume of hydrogen is undesirable, since under the reaction conditions it may cause hydrogenation of carbon-carbon double or triple bonds. Preference is given to the use of pure carbon monoxide or a carbon monoxide-containing gas which contains less than 5% by volume of hydrogen. The process according to the invention permits the use of very mild reaction conditions. Temperatures in the range of from 50 °C to 200 °C, especially 100 °C to 150 °C, are generally suitable. The pressure may vary over a wide range. Generally, a pressure in the range of from 1 to 100 bar is suitable, with pressures of from 5 to 50 bar being preferred. Pressures higher than 100 bar may be used, but are usually economically unattrac­ tive. The process according to the invention may be carried out batchwise, continuously or semi-continuously. The invention is further illustrated by means of the following Examples. The selectivity to a certain compound, expressed in a percentage, is defined as 100 a/b, in which "a" is the amount of ketone that has been converted into that certain compound and "b" is the total amount of that ketone that has been converted. Example 1 A 250-ml magnetically stirred Hastelloy C autoclave ("Hastelloy" is a trade name) was charged with toluene (50 ml), acetone (20 ml), palladium acetate (0.2 mmol), tri(p-chlorophenyl)phosphine (10 mmol) and p-toluenesulphonic acid (10 mmol). The autoclave was flushed with carbon monoxide, filled with carbon monoxide and propyne until partial pressures thereof of 20 and 2 bar, respectively, were obtained and heated to a temperature of 115 °C. After a reaction time of 5 h at this temperature the contents of the autoclave were analysed by means of gas-liquid chromatography. The conversion of acetone was 30% and the selectivity to isopropenyl methacrylate 60%; the selectivity to 2-methyl-1-hexene-3-one-4-yne (formed by reaction of 2 mol of propyne with 1 mol of carbon monoxide) was 40%. Example 2 The experiment of Example 1 was repeated with the difference that only 8 mmol of p-toluenesulphonic acid was used. The same results were obtained. Example 3 The experiment of Example 1 was repeated with the difference that 30 mmol instead of 10 mmol of tri(p-chloro­ phenyl)phosphine was used. The conversion of acetone was 30% with a selectivity to isopropenyl methacrylate of 90%. Example 4 The experiment of Example 3 was repeated with the difference that 20 ml of acetophenone instead of 20 ml of acetone was used. The conversion of acetophenone was 10% with a selectivity to 1-phenylvinyl methacrylate of 92%. The compound 1-phenylvinyl methacrylate is believed to be novel. Comparative Experiment A The experiment of Example 1 was repeated with the difference that the tri(p-chlorophenyl)phosphine (10 mmol) was replaced with triphenylphosphine (10 mmol) and that methacrylic acid (1 ml) was also present. The conversion of acetone was 30% after a reaction time of 5 h, with a selectivity to isopropenyl methacrylate of less than 5%. Comparison of this result with that of Example 1 shows that the phenyl groups in the phosphine should carry an electron-withdrawing substituent. Comparative Experiment B The experiment of Example 1 was repeated with the difference that p-toluenesulphonic acid (10 mmol) was replaced with methacrylic acid (20 mmol). The conversion of acetone was below 5%. Comparative Experiment C The experiment of Example 1 was repeated with the difference that p-toluenesulphonic acid (10 mmol) was replaced with orthophosphoric acid (pK a = 2.2, 10 mmol). The conversion of acetone was below 5%.

Claims: 1. A process for the preparation of esters of alpha-ethylenically unsaturated alcohols and alpha-ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acids, which process comprises causing an acetylenically unsaturated compound to react with carbon monoxide and an enolizable ketone in the presence of a catalytic system formed by combining:- a) a palladium catalyst, b) a phosphine having the general formula I in which R¹, R² and R³ each individually represent a phenyl group carrying an electron-withdrawing substituent, and c) a non-carboxylic protonic acid having a pKa not greater than 1.5 (measured at 18 °C in aqueous solution). 2. A process as claimed in claim 1, in which the acetyleni­ cally unsaturated compound is an optionally substituted alkyne having in the range of from 2 to 30 carbon atoms per molecule. 3. A process as claimed in claim 2, in which the optionally substituted alkyne has in the range of from 2 to 10 carbon atoms per molecule. 4. A process as claimed in claim 3, in which the alkyne is propyne. 5. A process as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which an optionally substituted alkanone having in the range of from 3 to 30 carbon atoms per molecule is used as enolizable ketone. 6. A process as claimed in claim 5, in which the alkanone is a methyl alkyl ketone. 7. A process as claimed in claim 6, in which the alkanone has 3 or 4 carbon atoms per molecule. 8. A process as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the palladium catalyst contains a compound of divalent palladium. 9. A process as claimed in claim 8, in which the compound of divalent palladium is a palladium alkanoate. 10. A process as claimed in claim 9, in which the palladium alkanoate is palladium acetate. 11. A process as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the phenyl groups present in the phosphine of the general formula I each carry a halogen atom. 12. A process as claimed in claim 11, in which the phosphine of the general formula I is tri(p-chlorophenyl)phosphine. 13. A process as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the protonic acid has the general formula II in which Z represents a sulphur or a chlorine atom, and, if Z represents a chlorine atom, R⁴ represents an oxygen atom and, if Z represents a sulphur atom, R⁴ represents an OH group or an optionally substituted hydrocarbyl group. 14. A process as claimed in claim 13, in which the hydrocarbyl group represented by R⁴ is an alkyl, aryl, aralkyl or alkaryl group having not more than 30 carbon atoms. 15. A process as claimed in claim 14, in which the acid is p-toluenesulphonic acid. 16. A process as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, which is carried out at a temperature in the range of from 50 °C to 200 °C. 17. 1-Phenylvinyl methacrylate.

Inventors: DRENT, EIT
Applicants: SHELL INTERNATIONALE RESEARCH MAATSCHAPPIJ B.V.
Application year: 1986
Main classification: C07C67
IPC codes: B01J31, C07C67, C07C69, C07B61