Fine chemicals, catalytic hydroformylation

SAPC can perform a broad spectrum of reactions such as hydroformylation, hydrogenation and oxidation, for the synthesis of bulk and fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals and their intermediates. Rhodium complexes are the most extensively used, but complexes of ruthenium, platinum, palladium, cobalt, molybdenum and copper have also been employed [63-65]. Owing to interfacial reactions, one of the main advantages of SAPC upon biphasic catalysis is that the solubility of the reactant in the catalytic aqueous-phase does not limit the performance of the supported aqueous phase catalysts. 

Aliphatic amines are amongst the most important bulk and fine chemicals in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry [13]. Hydroaminomethylation of alkenes to amines presents an atom-economic, efficient and elegant synthetic pathway towards this class of compounds. In hydroaminomethylation a reaction sequence of hydroformylation of an alkene to an aldehyde with subsequent reductive amina-tion proceeds in a domino reaction (see Eq. 4) [14]. Recently, the highly selective hydroamination of alkenes with ammonia to form linear primary and secondary aliphatic amines with a new Rh/Ir catalytic system (] Rh(cod)Cl 2], ] Ir(cod)Cl 2], aqueous TPPTS solution) has been described (see Scheme 2) [15]. The method is of particular importance for the production of industrially relevant, low molecular weight amines. 

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