Homogeneous Cobalt Catalyst for Hydrogenation of Carboxylic Acids

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/350/6258/298.abstract

 

Science 16 October 2015:
Vol. 350 no. 6258 pp. 298-302
DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa8938

Hydrogenation of carboxylic acids with a homogeneous cobalt catalyst

1. Ties J. Korstanje,
2. Jarl Ivar van der Vlugt,
3. Cornelis J. Elsevier*,
4. Bas de Bruin*

The reduction of esters and carboxylic acids to alcohols is a highly relevant conversion for the pharmaceutical and fine-chemical industries and for biomass conversion. It is commonly performed using stoichiometric reagents, and the catalytic hydrogenation of the acids previously required precious metals. Here we report the homogeneously catalyzed hydrogenation of carboxylic acids to alcohols using earth-abundant cobalt. This system, which pairs Co(BF₄)₂·6H₂O with a tridentate phosphine ligand, can reduce a wide range of esters and carboxylic acids under relatively mild conditions (100°C, 80 bar H₂) and reaches turnover numbers of up to 8000.