Self-neutralizing in situ Acid Catalysts from CO₂

Acids are the most common industrial catalysts but have the disadvantage of requiring post-reaction neutralization and salt disposal. We show the catalytic use of self-neutralizing acids. Carbon dioxide interacts with water and amines to form carbonic acid and carbamates. A similar interaction occurs with alcohols to form alkylcarbonic acids. All three solvent systems provide in situ acid formation for catalysis which can be easily neutralized by removal of carbon dioxide. However, water has poor organic solubility and amines form salts so only alkylcarbonic acids combine good organic solubility with simple neutralization via depressurization. The use of in situ acid also completely eliminates the solid salt wastes associated with many acid processes. To elucidate how to implement these systems in place of a standard acid system we compare the reaction rates of several alkylcarbonic acids with diazodiphenylmethane (DDM). We report also the effect of CO₂ pressure on reaction rate of DDM as well as measure the dielectric constant of these systems. Finally, a Hammett plot is used to identify the dominant step in alkylcarbonic acid catalysis.