Oxidation of ethoxylated fatty alcohols to alkylpolyglycol carboxylic acids using noble metals as catalysts

Abstract

The conversion of ethoxylated fatty alcohols to the corresponding carboxylic acids through dehydrogenation/ oxidation using noble-metal catalysts has been studied. Ethoxylated primary aliphatic alcohols, ethoxylated random secondary aliphatic alcohols and ethoxylated alkylphenols have been converted to the corresponding acids in the presence of a base. The noble metal catalysts Palladium and Platinum were used without significant degradation of the ethoxyl chain in yields that exceeded 90%. On the other hand, the catalysts Rhodium and Ruthenium gave yields of about 80% and 60% respectively.

Keywords

• alkylpolyglycol carboxylic acid
• ethoxy carboxylic acid
• fatty alcohol ethoxylate
• noble-metal catalyst oxidation
• noble-metal catalyst dehydrogenation