How would CO2 form from the reaction of 3-methyl benzoic acid with bis(trichloromethyl) carbonate (triphosgene)? Is it possible to form CO2 from a mixture of dichloro ketone in heat?

Or would the bis(trichloromethyl) carbonate(triphosgene) react with itself to form the CO2

To understand how CO2 forms from the reaction of 3-methyl benzoic acid with bis(trichloromethyl) carbonate (triphosgene), let's break down the reaction step-by-step:

1. First, the 3-methyl benzoic acid (C8H8O2) reacts with the bis(trichloromethyl) carbonate (CCl3)2CO, or triphosgene, to produce an intermediate compound.

2. The reaction occurs under acidic conditions, so the proton (H+) from the carboxylic acid group on the 3-methyl benzoic acid will remove one chloride atom from triphosgene, forming phosgene (COCl2) as an intermediate.

3. Phosgene is unstable and readily decomposes into carbon monoxide (CO) and chlorine gas (Cl2). This intermediate is important because it is a strong electrophile that can react with nucleophilic groups like the carbonyl (C=O) group in 3-methyl benzoic acid.

4. The carbonyl group in 3-methyl benzoic acid acts as the nucleophile, attacking the electrophilic carbon in phosgene. This leads to the formation of an acyl chloride intermediate.

5. Finally, the acyl chloride undergoes hydrolysis in a separate step, where it reacts with water (H2O) to produce benzoic acid, a hydrogen chloride (HCl) molecule, and carbon dioxide gas (CO2). This is known as a decarboxylation reaction, where the carboxylic acid group is effectively removed, resulting in the formation of CO2.

Regarding the second part of your question, it is not possible to directly form carbon dioxide (CO2) from a mixture of dichloro ketone in heat. The presence of a carbonyl group is required for decarboxylation reactions, such as the one described above. Dichloro ketones contain a carbonyl group (C=O), but without a carboxylic acid group (COOH), decarboxylation cannot occur. Therefore, in this case, the formation of CO2 through heat alone would not be possible.