Synthesis of Ethylene Glycol Acetates Catalyzed by Potassium Iodide and Metal Acetate

Article abstract of DOI:10.1246/bcsj.54.3200

The catalytic activities of various kinds of binary systems consisting of KI and metal acetate were tested in liquid phase oxidation of ethylene in acetic acid at various pressures.KI-Mn(OCOCH3)2 was found to be the most reactive system and new material, CH3COOCH2CH2OCOCH2OCOCH3, was formed as a major by-product.It was also found that the main product at an early stage of the reaction was ethylene glycol monoacetate, from which other products were formed consecutively.It is considered that catalytic reaction does not proceed via ICH2CH2I, but via ICH2CH2OH which is formed by the oxidation of ethylene with HIO.On the basis of the rate equation and the results under various reaction conditions, a mechanism of the KI-Mn(OCOCH3)2-catalyzed reaction has been proposed.