Acetic acid decarboxylation reaction.
Acetic acid is a weak acid and an important starting material for the production of vinyl acetate and acetic anhydride for the synthesis of long-chain carboxylic acids and many other organic compounds. It is also considered as a model acid present in unprocessed bio-oil. Moreover, the catalytic decomposition of acetic acid has been identified as a model for the eco-friendly treatment of air pollution and wastewater. Considering its importance, we studied the catalytic decarboxylation reaction of acetic acid theoretically using the state-of-the-art quantum chemistry; density functional theory (DFT).
The gas phase decarboxylation reaction of acetic acid occurs via two main steps and decarboxylation with currently used catalysts follows a similar mechanism. Our recently published article shows acetic acid decarboxylation occurs via a direct pathway when magnesium hydroxide cluster [Mg(OH)2]5 is the catalyst. Our results suggest that the decarboxylation of propionic acid (which is a component in sweat) will also occur via a similar pathway with the same catalyst, and we have confirmed this using the same theoretical methods.
This catalyst could provide a promising decarboxylation reaction pathway that suppresses undesirable by-products to produce high-quality vinyl acetate and bio-oil and suggests the potential of Mg(OH)2 catalyst as a coating agent for textiles that decompose sweat.
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