Commercial Ion Exchange Resins as Catalysts in Solid-Solid-Liquid Reactions

Nucleophilic substitutions, base-catalyzed alkylations, and oxidation of a secondary alcohol have been carried out in a nonpolar solvent with inorganic solid reagents using polymer-bound quarternary ammonium or phosphonium catalysts. The products could be isolated simply by filtration and evaporation of the solvent. Some commercial ion exchange resins, which are known to be inactive in liquid-liquid systems, were found to have a similar or even superior activity in comparison with the usual “triphase catalysts”. The resins were chemically stable under the reaction conditions, but their mechanical breakdown could be reduced only by application of unconventional means of agitation.