Organotin Compounds as Catalysts for Disproportionation of Methyl Phenyl Carbonate to Diphenyl Carbonate

The catalytic performances of organotin compounds for the disproportionation of methyl phenyl carbonate(MPC) to diphenyl carbonate( DPC) were investigated. The electronic effect and steric hindrance for the disproportionate reactivity of MPC to DPC catalyzed by organotin compounds were discussed. The results show that the organotin compound is used as Lewis acid to catalyze the disproportionation of MPC,the electronic effect and steric hindrance of the coordinating groups affect the acidity of active tin centers and therefore influence the reactivity. Moreover,the influence of electronic effect is greater than that of the steric hindrance. Butyltinhydroxide-oxide[BuSnO( OH)] catalyst exhibits the best catalytic performance. Under the optimum reaction conditions[n(Cat.) /n( MPC) = 0. 02,180 ℃,2. 5 h],the conversion of MPC is up to89. 7% and the selectivity of DPC is 99. 3%.