Highly product-selective and scalable rare-earth metal-catalyzed Meinwald rearrangement of epoxy oleochemicals under solvent-free conditions

Highly product-selective and scalable rare-earth metal-catalyzed Meinwald rearrangement of epoxy oleochemicals under solvent-free conditions

Using a rare-earth metal-based catalytic system, methyl oleate has been transformed into corresponding keto-derivatives via a Meinwald rearrangement of epoxidized methyl oleate (EMO). YCl3 efficiently carried out ring-opening of EMO under solvent-free conditions within a short reaction time. Only 3 wt% of YCl3 is enough to deliver selectively keto-products in excellent yields without requiring any column purifications. Also, this catalytic approach is very effective with a representative set of biobased unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). Overall, this effective synthesis of keto-derivatives promises novel materials with high biobased content and is very useful for industries of today and the future.

Using a rare-earth metal-based catalytic system, methyl oleate has been transformed into corresponding keto-derivatives via a Meinwald rearrangement of epoxidized methyl oleate (EMO). YCl3 efficiently carried out ring-opening of EMO under solvent-free conditions within a short reaction time. Only 3 wt% of YCl3 is enough to deliver selectively keto-products in excellent yields without requiring any column purifications. Also, this catalytic approach is very effective with a representative set of biobased unsaturated fatty acid methyl esters (FAME). Overall, this effective synthesis of keto-derivatives promises novel materials with high biobased content and is very useful for industries of today and the future.