Alkenes biphasic hydroformylation

In the aqueous biphasic hydroformylation reaction, the site of the reaction has been much discussed (and contested) and is dependent on reaction conditions (temperature, partial pressure of gas, stirring, use of additives) and reaction partners (type of alkene) [35, 36]. It has been suggested that the positive effects of cosolvents indicate that the bulk of the aqueous liquid phase is the reaction site. By contrast, the addition of surfactants or other surface- or micelle-active compounds accelerates the reaction, which apparently indicates that the reaction occurs at the interfacial layer. 

The monosulfonated PPh derivative, Ph2P(m-C6H4S03K) (DPM) and its rhodium complex, HRh(CO)(DPM)3 have been synthesized and characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopic techniques. The data showed that the structure was similar to [HRh(CO)(PPh3)3]. The catalytic activity and selectivity of [HRh(CO)(DPM)3] in styrene hydroformylation were studied in biphasic catalytic systems.420 421 Rh1 complexes [Rh(acac)(CO)(PR3)] with tpa (131), cyep (132), (126), ompp (133), pmpp (134), tmpp (135), PPh2(pyl), PPh(pyl)2, and P(pyl)3 were characterized with NMR and IR spectra. Complexes with (131), (132), and (126) were catalysts for hydrogenation of C—C and C—O bonds, isomerization of alkenes, and hydroformylation of alkenes.422 Asymmetric hydroformylation of styrene was performed using as catalyst precursor [Rh(//-0 Me)(COD)]2 associated with sodium salts of m-sulfonated diarylphosphines.423... 

An important feature of biphasic hydroformylation is the separability due to density differences. Because of the differences in density of the polar compound water (1.0 gem"1) and the hydrophobic oxo products (average 0.8), no problems occur. Additionally, the hydroformylation products are not sensitive to water. Another important question is to what extent water and the reactants are mixed. Therefore, the reactor in Figure 5.3 b), a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) [22], normally contains usual installations to guarantee excellent mixing. For the lower alkenes with their significant water solubility (propene, butene) this is no problem. In these cases, the hydroformylation reaction takes place at the interfacial region [23]. 

Various other biphasic solutions to the separation problem are considered in other chapters of this book, but an especially attractive alternative was introduced by Horvath and co-workers in 1994.[1] He coined the term catalysis in the fluorous biphase and the process uses the temperature dependent miscibility of fluorinated solvents (organic solvents in which most or all of the hydrogen atoms have been replaced by fluorine atoms) with normal organic solvents, to provide a possible answer to the biphasic hydroformylation of long-chain alkenes. At temperatures close to the operating temperature of many catalytic reactions (60-120°C), the fluorous and organic solvents mix, but at temperatures near ambient they phase separate cleanly. Since that time, many other reactions have been demonstrated under fluorous biphasic conditions and these form the basis of this chapter. The subject has been comprehensively reviewed, [2-6] so this chapter gives an overview and finishes with some process considerations. 

The limitations of hydroformylation reactions in water are the same as those of hydrogenation reactions, i.e. the poor solubility of the substrates (see Section 8.2.1). While aqueous-organic biphasic hydroformylation works well for alkenes with chain lengths up to C7, the solubility of longer chain alkenes is too low for viable processes. Although simple alkenes are poorly soluble, many functional alkenes have solubilities in water that are sufficiently high to avoid mass transfer problems, but at the same time this can impede separation. 

Aqueous/organic biphasic hydroformylation butenes and other alkenes... 

The catalytic performance of the fluoropolymer ligands 1 and 2 was first tested in the fluorous biphase hydroformylation of 1-alkenes, styrene and n-butyl acrylate. The reaction was conducted in a batch reactor in a 40/20/40 vol% hexane/toluene/perfluoromethylcyclohexane solvent mixture (10 mL). The catalyst was formed in situ by adding [Rh(CO)2(acac)] (5 rmol, P/Rh = 6) to the polymer-containing solvent mixture followed by introduction of syngas (30 bar, CO/H2 = 1/1). Table 2 summarises the results obtained. The salient features of the results are Firstly, the activity of the fluorous soluble polymer catalysts are significantly higher than that reported for solid polymer- and aqueous soluble polymer-supported rhodium catalysts.18-22 For example, the average turnover frequency (TOF) for the fluorous biphase hydroformylation of 1-decene is 136 mole aldehyde h-1 per mol of rhodium catalyst with an aldehyde selectivity of 99%. In comparison, a rhodium catalyst supported on the... 

Reetz et al. prepared /3-cyclodextrin-modified diphosphine 18 and a series of derivatives by phosphinomethylation of the corresponding amino-substituted cyclodextrin precursors [25], The ligands were used in biphasic hydroformylation of 1-octene and competitive hydrogenation of 1-alkenes, with rather poor results. The chiral cavity in the backbone might achieve molecular recognition of certain pro-chiral substrates and thus provide enantioselectivity in the products. 

Obviously, the reason for the low space-time yields of the biphasic hydroformylation reaction is in some way related to the low solubility of the higher alkenes in the catalyst phase. However, this finding does not necessarily imply that the catalytic reaction takes place in the bulk phase of the catalyst solution (concerning kinetics, see [22] and Section 6.1.2). 

Recently, rhodium/poly(enolate-co-vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate) catalysts have been developed for the biphasic hydroformylation of aliphatic alkenes and applied to the selective hydroformylation of functionalized alkenes [16], Although the conversions were low (< 25%), excellent selectivities for the hydroformylation of n-bu-tyl vinyl ether and methyl 3,3-dimethylpenten-4-onate can be achieved with such water-soluble polymer-anchored rhodium catalysts. For instance, the hydroformylation of methyl 3,3-dimethylpenten-4-onate gives only the linear aldehyde. 

With the RCH/RP process, it is possible to hydroformylate propene up to pentenes with satisfying space time yields. On the other hand, heavier aldehydes such as Cio (iso-decanal) or higher from the hydroformylation of nonene(s), decenes, etc. can not be separated from the oxo catalysts by conventional means such as distillation due to thermal instability at the required temperatures and thus especially needs the careful aqueous-biphasic separation technique. There are numerous attempts to overcome the problem of low reactivity of higher alkenes which is due to low miscibility of the alkenes in water [26,27b, 50a,58d]. These proposals can briefly be summarized as ... 

As outlined in Chapter 5, Section 5.2.3.2 various approaches to overcoming the low rates of the hydroformylation of long chain alkenes in aqueous biphasic systems have been proposed. Some of these, such as the use of microemulsions [24-26] or pH dependent solubility [27], have provided improvements often at the expense of complicating the separation process. Perhaps the most promising new approaches involve the introduction of new reactor designs where improved mixing allows for... 

The synthesis of aldehydes via hydroformylation of alkenes is an important industrial process used to produce in the region of 6 million tonnes a year of aldehydes. These compounds are used as intermediates in the manufacture of plasticizers, soaps, detergents and pharmaceutical products [7], While the majority of aldehydes prepared from alkene hydroformylation are done so in organic solvents, some research in 1975 showed that rhodium complexes with sulfonated phosphine ligands immobilized in water were able to hydroformylate propene with virtually complete retention of rhodium in the aqueous phase [8], Since catalyst loss is a major problem in the production of bulk chemicals of this nature, the process was scaled up, culminating in the Ruhrchemie-Rhone-Poulenc process for hydroformylation of propene, initially on a 120000 tonne per year scale [9], The development of this biphasic process represents one of the major transitions since the discovery of the hydroformylation reaction. The key transitions in this field include [10] ... 

The consequence of low alkene solubihty is in that industrially the RCH-RP process can be used only for the hydroformylation of C2-C4 olefins. In all other cases the overah production rate becomes unacceptably low. This is what makes the hydroformylation of higher olefins one of the central problems in aqueous/organic biphasic catalysis. Many solutions to this problem have been suggested (some of them will be discussed below), however, any procedure which increases the mutual solubihty of the organic components and the aqueous ingredients (co-solvents, surfactants) may... 

In the hydroformylation of alkenes, the major differences between the [RhH(CO)(PPh3)3], and [RhH(CO)(TPPTS)3] catalysts are the lower activity and higher selectivity of the water-soluble complex in aqueous/organic biphasic systems. Lower activity is not unexpected, since alkenes have limited solubility in water (see 4.1.1.1, Table 3). On the other hand, the higher selectivity towards formation of the linear product deserves more scrutiny. 

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