Kinetic modeling of carbonylation of 1-(4-isobutylphenyl)ethanol using a homogeneous PdCl₂(PPh₃)₂/TsOH/LiCl catalyst system

Abstract

The kinetics of carbonylation of 1-(4-isobutylphenyl)ethanol (IBPE) were studied in a stirred semibatch reactor using a homogeneous PdCl₂(PPh₃)₂/TsOH/LiCl catalyst system. A three-step reaction pathway that describes the formation of an active palladium(0) species, the formation of active carbonylation substrate, 1-(4-isobutylphenyl)ethyl chloride, and the main carbonylation catalytic cycle has been proposed. The effect of the catalyst, (TsOH/LiCl) and IBPE concentrations and the partial pressure of CO on the rate and semibatch reactor performance has been investigated over the temperature range of 378-398 K. An empirical semibatch reactor model was derived, and the reaction rate parameters were evaluated based upon a simplified scheme. The rate model was found to satisfactorily predict the concentration versus time profiles at all temperatures. An attempt was also made to develop a dynamic model that accounts for the change in concentration of all of the catalytic intermediate species as well as the reactants and products.