Commercial Applications of Reactions Catalyzed by Soluble Complexes of Cobalt and Rhodium

Abstract

The past quarter century has witnessed an enormous transformation in the use of soluble transition metal complexes as catalysts in the chemical process industries. Until the mid-1950s, industrial use of homogeneous catalysis was largely confined to reactions of acetylene [1]. As indicated in Fig. 1, a large family of acetylene-based reactions was used to produce polymer intermediates such as vinyl acetate, vinyl chloride, acrylonitrile, chloroprene, and 1,4-butanediol. The processes were simple but they were relatively expensive because they were based on an expensive raw material. The large energy content of the acetylene molecule (ΔF°=50.84 kcal/mol) made it both hazardous to handle and expensive even in times when energy was cheaper.