Au (III)/N-containing ligand complex: A novel and efficient catalyst in carbonylation of alkyl nitrite

High catalytic activity of a gold N-containing ligand complex in the homogenous carbonylation of alkyl nitrite to dialkyl carbonate with KI as the promoter is reported. [AuCl2(phen)]Cl/KI (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) complex has been used as a catalyst in the carbonylation of ethyl nitrite. The use of iodide as a promoter resulted in a significant increase in activity (TOF: 35.8 mol
• molAu− 1
• h− 1) and selectivity (91.7%) for diethyl carbonate at 3.0 MPa, 80 °C and 5 h. Based on the results of ESI-MS, UV-Vis, and cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiments, a mechanism is proposed for the carbonylation of alkyl nitrite in a homogeneous system using a gold N-containing ligand complex as a catalyst.

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► [AuCl2(phen)]Cl/KI was successfully explored in the reaction.
► I− and phen in gold complexes showed synergistic effect on the catalytic activity.
► We found a novel application of homogeneous gold complex catalysts in carbonylation.