Process for the production of methacrylic acid

Disclosed is a method of making methacrylic acid, or a carboxylic derivative thereof, from itaconic acid, isomers, or precursors thereof. A starting material comprising an acid selected from the group consisting of itaconic acid, citraconic acid, mesaconic acid, citric acid, aconitic acid, isocitric acid and mixtures thereof, is subjected to contact with 0.1 eq. to 3.0 eq. of a base, at a temperature of 150°C to 350°C, under the influence of a transition metal-containing heterogeneous catalyst. A better yield at lower temperatures is achieved

Synthesis of Biobased Succinonitrile from Glutamic Acid and Glutamine

Succinonitrile is the precursor of 1,4-diaminobutane, which is used for the industrial production of polyamides. This paper describes the synthesis of biobased succinonitrile from glutamic acid and glutamine, amino acids that are abundantly present in many plant proteins. Synthesis of the intermediate 3-cyanopropanoic amide was achieved from glutamic acid 5-methyl ester in an 86 mol¿% yield and from glutamine in a 56 mol¿% yield. 3-Cyanopropanoic acid can be converted into succinonitrile, with a selectivity close to 100¿% and a 62¿% conversion, by making use of a palladium(II)-catalyzed equilibrium reaction with acetonitrile. Thus, a new route to produce biobased 1,4-diaminobutane has been discovered

Phosphine-olefin ligands: a facile dehydrogenative route to catalytically active rhodium complexes.

Facile, metal-mediated, (acceptorless) dehydrogenation of tricyclopentyl phosphine directly affords rhodium chelating phosphine-olefin complexes, some of which are catalytically active for 1,4-additions