Carbonylation of methanol to acetic acid using homogeneous Ru complex catalyst

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/0022-328X(92)80101-3

Carbonylation of methanol to give acetic acid catalysed by Ru complexes such as trans-Ru(CO)2Cl2(PPh3)2, cis-Ru(CO)2Cl2(PPh3)2 and H2Ru(CO)(PPh3)3 is reported.The highest activity and selectivity were obtained with H2Ru(CO)(PPh3)3 as the catalyst precursor.Hydrogen increases the activity and selectivity of catalysts such as trans-Ru(CO)2Cl2(PPh3)2, cis-Ru(CO)2Cl2(PPh3)2, but has no influence on the activity and selectivity in the case of H2Ru(CO)(PPh3)3.