A Comprehensive Study on Metal Triflate-Promoted Hydrogenolysis of Lactones to Carboxylic Acids: From Synthetic and Mechanistic Perspectives

Direct hydrogenolysis of lactone to carboxylic acid (i.e., hydrogenolysis of the Calkoxy–O bond with the carbonyl group untouched) is generally difficult, as the current strategies employing Brønsted acids as the catalyst usually require harsh conditions such as a high temperature and a high H2 pressure. Herein, we report a developed solvent-free catalytic transformation, in which W(OTf)6 is believed to promote the hydrogenolysis process. This strategy could efficiently hydrogenate lactones to carboxylic acids under extra mild conditions (e.g., a reaction temperature of <150 °C and 1 atm of H2) and showed a broad substrate scope. In addition, the catalytic protocol can be further applied to the hydrogenolysis of polyhydroxyalkanoate, as a renewable polymer, to the corresponding straight-chain carboxylic acids. An extensive mechanistic study was subsequently performed, and the density functional theory calculations revealed a reaction pattern, including the complete cleavage of the C═O bond with the assistance of the W(OTf)6 catalyst. Moreover, the key intermediate created in the mechanism, as an oxonium with an OTf moiety, was successfully detected by electrospray ionization mass spectra. Through a comparison with the Brønsted acid-catalyzed system, the study confirmed that the existence of the OTf moiety can significantly lower the barriers associated with the rearrangement and elimination processes. Meanwhile, emphasis was placed on the critical role that the anion plays, as well as the fact that the anion effect is directly related to the chemoselectivity.