Novel synthetic pathway for the production of phosgene.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34586844.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.abj5186 and PMC identifier 8480918.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Chloride ions are efficient catalysts for the synthesis of phosgene from carbon monoxide and elemental chlorine at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Control experiments rule out a radical mechanism and highlight the role of triethylmethylammonium trichloride, [NEt<sub>3</sub>Me][Cl<sub>3</sub>], as active species. In the catalytic reaction, commercially available [NEt<sub>3</sub>Me]Cl reacts with Cl<sub>2</sub> to form [NEt<sub>3</sub>Me][Cl<sub>3</sub>], enabling the insertion of CO into an activated Cl─Cl bond with a calculated energy barrier of 56.9 to 77.6 kJ mol<sup>−1</sup>. As [NEt<sub>3</sub>Me]Cl is also a useful chlorine storage medium, it could serve as a catalyst for phosgene production and as chlorine storage in a combined industrial process.