Kinetics and modeling of liquid–liquid phase transfer catalysed synthesis of p-chlorophenyl acetonitrile: role of co-catalyst in intensification of rates and selectivity

✍ Scribed by Ganapati D. Yadav; Yogeeta B. Jadhav

• Book ID: 104422103
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 227 KB
• Volume: 192
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1381-1169
• DOI: 10.1016/s1381-1169(02)00419-3

✦ Synopsis

The role of a co-catalyst in the intensification of rates of liquid-liquid (L-L) phase transfer catalysed reaction is studied in allusion to the synthesis of p-chlorophenyl acetonitrile by using tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) as the phase transfer (PT) catalyst and potassium iodide as the co-catalyst. Due to the co-catalytic action of potassium iodide, there is an intensification of reaction rates by orders of magnitude resulting from the in situ formation of a more active p-chlorobenzyl iodide and the selectivity is 100%. The catalyst is predominantly distributed in two forms, Q + I -and Q + CN -. A mechanistic model consistent with the kinetics of the process is described. The study provides a deeper insight into the complexities of the co-catalysed phase transfer catalytic (PTC) processes.