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Related Concept Videos

Carboxylic Acids to Esters: Acid-Catalyzed (Fischer) Esterification Overview01:20

Carboxylic Acids to Esters: Acid-Catalyzed (Fischer) Esterification Overview

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The Fischer esterification reaction was developed by the German chemist Emil Fischer in 1895. It is a condensation reaction between carboxylic acids and alcohols in an acidic medium to give esters and water.
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Esters to Carboxylic Acids: Acid-Catalyzed Hydrolysis01:13

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Hydrolysis of esters under acidic conditions proceeds through a nucleophilic acyl substitution. In the presence of excess water, the reaction proceeds in a reversible manner, forming carboxylic acids and alcohols.
During hydrolysis, the ester is first activated towards nucleophilic attack through the protonation of the carboxyl oxygen atom by the acid catalyst. The protonation makes the ester carbonyl carbon more electrophilic. In the next step, water acts as a nucleophile and adds to the...
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Bicarbonate-Carbonic Acid Buffer01:22

Bicarbonate-Carbonic Acid Buffer

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The carbonic acid-bicarbonate buffer system is critical for maintaining the body's pH balance. It operates on the equilibrium:
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Carboxylic acids react with alcohols to yield esters via an acid-catalyzed condensation reaction called Fischer esterification. This is a nucleophilic acyl substitution reaction that proceeds via a tetrahedral intermediate, where a water molecule is eliminated as the leaving group.
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Acid Halides to Carboxylic Acids: Hydrolysis01:01

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Hydrolysis of acid halides is a nucleophilic acyl substitution reaction in which acid halides react with water to give carboxylic acids. The reaction occurs readily and does not require acid or a base catalyst.
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Carboxylic Acids to Primary Alcohols: Hydride Reduction01:17

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Carboxylic acids, upon reaction with strong reducing agents such as lithium aluminum hydride followed by hydrolysis, undergo reduction to form primary alcohols.
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Efficient carbon dioxide hydrogenation to formic acid with buffering ionic liquids.

Andreas Weilhard1, Stephen P Argent2, Victor Sans3,4

  • 1Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.

Nature Communications
|January 12, 2021
PubMed
Summary

This study introduces ionic liquids as efficient buffers for converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into formic acid (FA), offering a sustainable alternative to traditional base-assisted methods and reducing waste.

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Area of Science:

  • Green Chemistry
  • Catalysis
  • Sustainable Chemical Production

Background:

  • Efficiently converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable chemicals like formic acid (FA) is crucial for decarbonization.
  • Current CO2 hydrogenation methods often require bases, leading to waste generation and complex purification steps.
  • Existing buffer systems for FA synthesis have shown limited catalytic efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a novel methodology for the efficient catalytic transformation of CO2 into FA.
  • To explore the use of ionic liquids (ILs) as effective buffers in this process.
  • To achieve high catalytic efficiency comparable to base-assisted systems without generating excessive waste.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing multifunctional basic ionic liquids (ILs) as buffers.
  • Designing specific catalysts to work synergistically with the ILs.
  • Investigating the catalytic performance in terms of turnover numbers (TONs) and turnover frequencies (TOFs).

Main Results:

  • Achieved very high efficiency in transforming CO2 into FA using ILs as buffers.
  • Demonstrated catalytic performance comparable to traditional base-assisted systems.
  • Reported exceptionally high catalytic efficiency with TONs exceeding 8*10^5 and TOFs greater than 2.1*10^4 h^-1.

Conclusions:

  • Ionic liquids can effectively serve as buffers for the catalytic synthesis of formic acid from CO2.
  • This IL-based approach offers a highly efficient and potentially more sustainable route for FA production.
  • The developed methodology overcomes limitations of previous buffer systems and base-assisted methods.