Dedicated to Professor Andre Merbach on the occasion of this 65th birthdayThe rhodium(I) complexes trans-[Rh(diphos)(CO)Cl] 7 (diphos pbpb), 8 (diphos nbpb), and 9 (diphos cbpb) were synthesized (Scheme 4) and used as catalysts for the carbonylation of MeOH to AcOH (Scheme 1). The trans coordination imposed by the rigid C-spacer framework of the diphos ligands pbpb, nbpb, and cbpb, demonstrated by 31 P-NMR and IR spectroscopy of 7 ± 9 and unambiguously confirmed by singlecrystal X-ray structure analysis of 7, improved the thermal stability of the rhodium(I) system under carbonylation conditions and, hence, the catalytic performance of the complexes. For the catalytic carbonylation of MeOH, the active catalyst could be prepared in situ from the mixture of [Rh(CO) 2 Cl] 2 and the corresponding diphos ligand pbpb, nbpb, or cbpb, giving the same results as carbonylation in the presence of the isolated complexes 7, 8 or 9 (see Table). The highest activity was observed for complex 7 (or the mixture [Rh(CO) 2 Cl] 2 / pbpb, the catalytic turnover number (TON) being 950 after 15 min (1708, 22 bar). The anion cis-[Rh(CO) 2 I 2 ] À was found to be the initial catalytically active species [3]. As the rate-determining step of the catalytic cycle is the oxidative addition of MeI to cis-[Rh(CO) 2 I 2 ] À [4], electron enrichment at the metal center is expected to facilitate this step and to improve the rate of AcOH formation. Consequently, square-planar rhodium(I) complexes with ligands that increase the electron density at the Rh-atom have been developed and studied as catalysts; they give better or at least comparable activities than the original Monsanto catalyst [5 ± 8].
Introduction. ± The carbonylation of MeOH to generate AcOH is one of the most important homogeneously catalyzed industrial processes [1] (Scheme 1). The production of AcOH by the