Disadvantages
The main disadvantages of these new catalysts compared with conventional ones are less industrial experience, reduced availability and increased purchase cost. As they contain rare metals and sulfonate ions, the production of these catalysts may itself be a polluting or hazardous process. For example, metal extraction usually requires large quantities of sulfuric acid. Since the catalyst is recoverable, these disadvantages would be less over time, and the cost savings from reduced waste treatment and better product separation may be substantially greater.
One vendor MSDS lists safety considerations including dermal/eye/respiratory/GI burns on contact. It also lists possible hazardous decomposition products including CO, CO2, HF and SOx. The compounds are hygroscopic, so care is required for storage and handling. However, these considerations also apply to the more common catalysts.
These possible disadvantages are difficult to quantify, as essentially all public domain publications on their use are by research chemists, and do not include Life Cycle Analysis or budgetary considerations. Future work in these areas would greatly encourage their uptake by industry.
Read more about this topic: Lanthanide Trifluoromethanesulfonates