Process for the hydrogenation of organic compounds

摘要

Organic compounds are hydrogenated by contacting them with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst comprising a cobalt complex of the formula HnCo(CO)z(ER3)x(R2ER1ER2)y in which x, y and z represent integers satisfying the equation x+2y+2=4, while x and z have values from 0 to 3 and y from 0 to 2; n is O or 1; E is a phosphorus or arsenic atom; R1 is a bivalent unsubstituted or halogen and/or alkoxy-substituted hydrocarbon group and each R represents a hydrogen atom or a univalent group corresponding to R1. The catalyst may be a mixture of such complexes in one of which n is O and in the other is 1. The compounds which may be hydrogenated may be, for example, unsaturated hydrocarbons which give more saturated hydrocains, saturated aldehydes and ketones which yield alcohols, unsaturated compounds such as cyanides to give saturated cyanides and unsaturated ketones which may give saturated ketones or saturated alcohols. In general temperatures between 50 DEG C. and 300 DEG C. are used. Examples are given of the hydrogenation of (a) 3-sulfolene to 'sulfolane; (b) butyraldehyde to butanol-1; (c) acrylonitrile to ethyl cyanide; (d) acetone to isopropyl alcohol; (e) mesilyl oxide to methyl isobutyl ketone and (f) quinoline to tetrahydroquinoline. The complexes used as catalysts may be prepared, for example, by intermixing a cobalt salt with a suitable solvent in the presence of a trivalent phosphorus or arsenic compound and carbon monoxide, and hydrogenating the solution. Preferably the catalyst is prepared by reacting dicobalt octacarbonyl with an appropriate phosphine or arsine.ALSO:Unsaturated hydrocarbons are hydrogenated by contacting them with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst comprising a cobalt complex of formula , in which x, y and z satisfy the equation x+2y+z=4, x and z having values from 0 to 3 and y from 0 to 2; n is 0 or 1; E is a phosphorus or arsenic atom; R1 is a bivalent unsubstituted or halogen and/or alkoxy-substituted hydrocarbon group and each R represents a hydrogen atom or a monovalent group corresponding to R1. These catalysts are used in the hydrogenation of ethylene or acetylenic hydrocarbons, polyolefins, terpenes and fused ring polycyclic olefins. In the examples: (a) a -methyl styrene is reduced to cumene; (b) cyclohexene to cyclohexane; (c) piperylene and cyclopentadiene to pentene and cyclopentene; (d) pentene-1 to pentane; and (e) anthracene to dihydroanthracene.