Dicobalt octaearbonyl

One of the most interesting catalytic reactions to be discovered is the so-called oxo reaction. The oxo reaction consists of the catalytic addition of carbon monoxide and hydrogen to olefins to form, primarily, aldehydes possessing one carbon atom more than the original olefin. This hy-droformylation reaction was developed during World War II by Roelen and co-workers (22) in Germany. While they utilized solid Fischer-Tropsch cobalt-thoria catalyst, it became apparent to them that the hydroformylation reaction was probably a homogeneous catalytic process with either dicobalt octaearbonyl or cobalt hydrocarbonyl as the catalyst. 

The use of solutions of dicobalt octaearbonyl under hydrogen and carbon monoxide pressure has been described in detail (23,24) as effective in adding hydrogen or hydrogen and carbon monoxide to unsaturated organic compounds. Thus in the oxo reaction hydrogen as well as carbon monoxide is activated by what is believed to be homogeneous solutions of dicobalt octaearbonyl. 

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See also in sourсe #XX -- [ , , , , , ]

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