Key words: supercritical carbon dioxide, carboxylation, aromatic compounds, Lewis acids
A direct carboxylation of benzene and its derivatives PhX (X = Me, Br, Ph, OPh, OMe) and of mesitilene, durene and ferrocene in the presence of various Lewis acids (AlCl3, FeCl3, ZrCl4, ZnCl2) in supercritical CO2 medium is studied. In all the cases secondary transformations proceed faster compared to the primary reaction of carboxylic acid formation. For the system AlCl3/CO2/toluene studied in detail the optimal conditions of p-toluic acid formation are found. Quantum-chemical (DFT) calculations of carboxylation in AlCl3/CO2/benzene system using PRIRODA code allows one to trace a more energetically feasible reaction path.
doi:10.1134/S199079311207007X