Catalytic etherification of glycerol with short chain alkyl alcohols in the presence of Lewis acids
作者:Fei Liu、Karine De Oliveira Vigier、Marc Pera-Titus、Yannick Pouilloux、Jean-Marc Clacens、Floryan Decampo、François Jérôme
DOI:10.1039/c3gc36944g
日期:——
Here we report the homogeneously-catalyzed etherification of glycerol with short chain alkyl alcohols. Among the large variety of Brønsted and Lewis acids tested, we show here that metal triflates are not only the most active but are also capable of catalyzing this reaction with an unprecedented selectivity. In particular, in the presence of Bi(OTf)3, the targeted monoalkylglyceryl ethers were obtained with up to 70% yield. Although tested Brønsted acids were also capable of catalyzing the etherification of glycerol with alkyl alcohols, they were found however less active and less selective than Bi(OTf)3. By means of counter experiments, we highlighted that the high activity and selectivity of Bi(OTf)3 may rely on a synergistic effect between Bi(OTf)3 and triflic acid, a Brønsted acid that can be released by in situ glycerolysis of Bi(OTf)3. The scope of this methodology was also extended to other polyols and, in all cases, the monoalkylpolyol ethers were conveniently obtained with fair to good yields.
我们报道了甘油与短链烷基醇在均相催化下的醚化反应。在测试了大量布朗斯特和路易斯酸后,我们发现金属三氟甲磺酸盐不仅是最活跃的催化剂,而且还能以前所未有的选择性催化这一反应。特别是,在Bi(OTf)3的存在下,目标单烷基甘油醚的产率高达70%。尽管测试的布朗斯特酸也能催化甘油与烷基醇的醚化反应,但它们的活性和选择性都低于Bi(OTf)3。通过对比实验,我们强调Bi(OTf)3的高活性和选择性可能依赖于Bi(OTf)3和三氟甲磺酸(一种可由Bi(OTf)3现场甘油分解释放的布朗斯特酸)之间的协同效应。这种方法的应用范围也扩展到其他多元醇,并且在所有情况下,单烷基多元醇醚都能以合理至良好的产率方便地获得。