Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2024, Vol. 66: 146-151.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(24)60125-7

• Communications • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Photon-induced regeneration of Pd catalyst for carbonylation of amines to ureas

Junbao Penga, Jin Xiea, Zelong Lia,*(), Can Lia,b,*()   

  1. aKey Laboratory of Advanced Catalysis, Gansu Province, State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
    bState Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, Dalian 116023, Liaoning, China
  • Received:2024-07-18 Accepted:2024-08-26 Online:2024-11-18 Published:2024-11-10
  • Contact: *E-mail: Lizl@lzu.edu.cn (Z. Li),canli@dicp.ac.cn (C. Li).
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(22072061);National Key Research and Development Program of China(2021YFA15011)

Abstract:

Substituted ureas hold considerable significance in both natural and synthetic chemicals. Pd-based homogenous catalyst has been used for the urea synthesis, however the aggregation of Pd(0) species leads to the deactivation of the catalyst even under mild conditions. Here, we present a photon-involved carbonylation of amines to synthesize ureas, achieving product yields of up to 99%, using Pd(OAc)2 and KI without losing the performance owing to the fast regeneration of Pd species under light irradiation. Reaction kinetics results and ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra indicate the regeneration of the Pd species is realized by the light irradiation (below 450 nm) which induces the oxidation reaction between HI and O2 to produce I2, so that the active species PdI2 is regenerated through the reaction between Pd(0) and the I2.

Key words: Photochemistry, Carbonylation, Pd catalysis, Pd regeneration, Urea