Novel effective poly(2,2′-bipyridine-5,5′-diyl)-CuCl2 catalyst for synthesis of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) by oxidative carbonylation of methanol

A novel type of polymer-supported CuCl2 catalyst for dimethyl carbonate (DMC) synthesis has been obtained by choosing ir-conjugated poly(2,2'-bipyridine-5,5'-diyl) (PBpy) as the supporting ligand; its catalytic activity for oxidative carbonylation of methanol in the liquid phase reaction has been investigated. The catalyst gives higher DMC yield and DMC selectivity than similar heterogeneous poly(vinylpyridine) (PVP)-CuCl2 catalyst. The high catalytic activity is associated with the pi-conjugated conductive properties of the supporting ligand, PBpy. Both the PBpy-CuCl2 and PVP-CuCl2 catalysts can be easily recycled after filtration, and the catalytic activity is maintained after three times use. The PBpy-CuCl2 catalyst is much less corrosive toward stainless steels compared with the PVP-CuCl2 and ligand-free CuCl2 catalyst. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.