Petroleum Chemistry, Vol.44, No.3, 184-187, 2004
Mechanism of the methyl acetate carbonylation reaction in the presence of catalyst systems based on RhCl3 center dot H2O and nitrogen-containing promoters
The influence of polymeric promoters containing nitrogen of different basicity on the reaction mechanism of methyl acetate carbonylation to acetic anhydride was studied. The formation of the active complex [Rh(CO)(2)I-2](-) from RhCl3 and its conversion under carbonylation conditions were studied by in situ IR spectroscopy. It was found that N-containing compounds facilitate the formation of the active complex and speed up the rate-determining step. In addition, they impede the formation of the carbonylation-inactive [Rh(CO)(2)I-4](-) complex.