Dimethyl Carbonate → Diphenyl carbonate

Participants

Reaction Steps

In a stainless steel pressure vessel equipped with a distillation column packed with PRO-PAK protruded 0.16 inch stainless steel packing, air condensor, and receiver, and equipped to maintain pressure from a nitrogen regulator, a quantity of 78 parts dimethyl carbonate, 136 parts phenyl acetate, and 0.5 part dibutyl tin dibutoxide was heated, at 200 psig, to 240° C. for one hour, and then at atmospheric pressure for one hour. A quantity of 89 parts (83% of the theorectical) of diphenyl carbonate was isolated. The pot residue, after removal of the diphenyl carbonate by vacuum distillation, amounting to 3.3 parts, was used as a catalyst in the reaction of 132 parts phenyl acetate and 72 parts dimethyl carbonate. A quantity of 78.1 parts of diphenyl carbonate was recovered, along with 4.4 parts of pot residue for recycle. Analysis indicated less than 1 ppm of tin in the resulting diphenyl carbonate.

Provenance & Evidence