Anchored catalysts offer advantages

Johnson Matthey catalysts and chemicals division featured the FibreCat family of anchored homogeneous catalysts, said to offer higher yields and selectivity, superior product purity, and ease of use in a single, recyclable catalyst.

FibreCat consists of a polymer fibre that is inert and insoluble in all solvents to which functional groups, ligands and the precious metal can be added.

The fibre may be of various lengths, with the 2mm (fibre form) and the 0.25mm (powder) being the most common. Different fibre lengths allow optimisation of the catalyst to the reactor operating conditions.

The fibres are functionalised via graft copolymerisation, which results in a high density of active functional sites being generated on the polymer. Further functionalisation of the groups on the fibre is then possible to meet any linking requirements.

In contrast to conventional bead technology, the fibre catalysts suffer no physical degradation on stirring, says Johnson Matthey. They are easy to handle and can be separated by filtration, leaving minimal impurities in the process stream. The first commercial product available, the FibreCat 1001, can be used in bromo/iodo coupling reactions.

'Anchored homogeneous catalysts offer benefits that will change the way chemists operate,' said Bill Tamblyn, technical director of the north American arm of Johnson Matthey's chemical business.