Experimental principle of synthesis of adipic acid

The experimental principle for the synthesis of adipic acid (also known as dimethyl adipate) can be obtained by reacting hexanediol with dimethyl tartrate. The experimental principle is as follows: 1. Reaction of hexanediol with dimethyl tartrate: Under acid catalytic conditions, dimethyl tartrate and hexanediol can undergo ester exchange reaction. The specific reaction equation is: dimethyl tartrate+hexanediol → dimethyl adipate+methanol. Reaction conditions: This reaction requires an acid catalyst, and commonly used acid catalysts include sulfuric acid and ammonium sulfate. The reaction usually occurs at high temperatures, typically between 150-200 degrees Celsius.
3. Reaction mechanism: Under acid catalyzed conditions, the hydroxyl group in dimethyl tartrate undergoes ester exchange reaction with methanol in hexanediol, producing dimethyl adipate and reaction byproduct methanol. Acid catalysts can promote the progress of this reaction.
4. Post reaction treatment: After the reaction is complete, the reaction mixture needs to be subjected to post-treatment. Usually, distillation can be used to separate the reaction product dimethyl adipate and the by-product methanol.
In general, the experimental principle of synthesizing adipic acid is to reverse the reaction of dimethyl tartrate and hexanediol through ester exchange reaction to produce dimethyl adipate. This reaction requires an acid catalyst, is carried out under high temperature conditions, and requires post-treatment of the reaction products.