Pascal Metivier

Iridium–formic acid based system for hydroxycarbonylation without CO gas

Abstract A simple method for hydroxycarbonylation of alkenes or alcohols substrates which avoids CO gas handling is reported. The proposed formic acid–iridium based system appears very attractive due to very good chemical performances for such a reaction and high stability of the catalyst. This reaction was developed for industrial purposes, but is also of interest for small scale syntheses, since it does not require expensive equipments and can be carried out easily.

Catalysis for fine chemicals: An industrial perspective

Publisher Summary Few fine chemicals products can be treated as bulk chemicals; nevertheless a few products such as vanillin (aroma), menthol (perfume), ibuprofen (pharmaceutical) are relevant of the bulk chemicals R&D methodology, because of their high overall turnover and of their probable long lifetime. Research and development in the field of fine chemicals differ considerably from bulk chemicals. Requirements for industrial success of a new process are different from bulk chemical where the most important feature is cost performance. If this feature is of course important for development of fine chemicals, two other main parameters are to be considered. First of all, time to market: the product should be manufactured at the right time and for a limited period of time. The lifetime of most fine chemicals is much shorter than for bulk chemical where 20 to 50 years is standard. Second, possible R&D expenses are much lower than for bulk chemicals.