Styrene, one of the major building blocks of the plastics industry, is produced through acid-based catalytic conversion of benzene and ethylene to ethylbenzene followed by trans-alkylation and then ethylbenzene dehydrogenation. The direct production of styrene from benzene and ethylene is possible through transition metal catalyzed oxidative ethylene hydrophenylation. The cationic Ru(II) complex [(CH3OTTM)Ru[P(OCH2)3CEt](NCMe)Ph][BAr'4] (CH3OTMM = 4,4',4"-ethoxyethanetriyl)tris(1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole), BAr'4 = tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate), which is supported by a tristriazole ligand, catalyzes the direct conversion of benzene and ethylene to styrene without an external oxidant. In contrast, similar Ru(II) catalysts with the hydridotris(pyrazolyl)borate or tris(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)methane ligand are selective for ethylbenzene production. The presentation will compare catalysis across a series of neutral and cationic Ru(II) catalysts.

Hydrophenylation of ethylene using a cationic Ru(II) catalyst: Change in selectivity based on an auxiliary ligand

254th National Meeting (2017)

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