HRh

Rhodium Ca.ta.lysts. Rhodium carbonyl catalysts for olefin hydroformylation are more active than cobalt carbonyls and can be appHed at lower temperatures and pressures (14). Rhodium hydrocarbonyl [75506-18-2] HRh(CO)4, results in lower -butyraldehyde [123-72-8] to isobutyraldehyde [78-84-2] ratios from propylene [115-07-17, C H, than does cobalt hydrocarbonyl, ie, 50/50 vs 80/20. Ligand-modified rhodium catalysts, HRh(CO)2L2 or HRh(CO)L2, afford /iso-ratios as high as 92/8 the ligand is generally a tertiary phosphine. The rhodium catalyst process was developed joindy by Union Carbide Chemicals, Johnson-Matthey, and Davy Powergas and has been Hcensed to several companies. It is particulady suited to propylene conversion to -butyraldehyde for 2-ethylhexanol production in that by-product isobutyraldehyde is minimized. 

For example, HRh(CO)2L2, after dissociation of CO, goes on to generate -butyraldehyde as shown ia Figure 4 (13,14). A similar cycle could be written for isobutyraldehyde. 

Use of HRh(CO)[P(CgH )2]3 as the catalyst and an excess of triphenylphosphine improves the y P ratio. For example, reaction of triethoxysilane with allylamine of equivalent moles at 150°C for 10 h, yields the y-form product ia more than 70% and the y P ratio is 26. Compared with this, when H2PtCl3 is used as the catalyst, the y P ratio is 4 (41). Furthermore, when Rh[(p.-P(C3H3)2-(cyclooctadiene)]2 is used as the catalyst, the yield of y-form product is selectively increased to 92% and that of P-form product is decreased to 1.1% (42). 

The hydroformylation reaction is carried out in the Hquid phase using a metal carbonyl catalyst such as HCo(CO)4 (36), HCo(CO)2[P( -C4H2)] (37), or HRh(CO)2[P(CgH3)2]2 (38,39). The phosphine-substituted rhodium compound is the catalyst of choice for new commercial plants that can operate at 353—383 K and 0.7—2 MPa (7—20 atm) (39). The differences among the catalysts are found in their intrinsic activity, their selectivity to straight-chain product, their abiHty to isomerize the olefin feedstock and hydrogenate the product aldehyde to alcohol, and the ease with which they are separated from the reaction medium (36). 

Closer examination of the mechanism for the Rh catalyzed carbonylation of ethylene provides a rationale for the poor selectivity. The mechanism for the carbonylation of ethylene (Scheme 37.1) is well known (6) and proceeds via two simultaneously operating mechanisms which generate a common EtRh(CO)2l2 intermediate which rapidly reacts with iodide (Eqn. 10) to generate EtRh(CO)2l3 . The first, and predominant, mechanism is a hydride mechanism (Eqns. 6-8 below) in which the proton required for the formation of HRh(CO)2l2 and initiation of the... 

In another interesting area in the study of hydroformylation, Davis developed the concept of supported aqueous phase (SAP) catalysis.175 A thin, aqueous film containing a water-soluble catalyst adheres to silica gel with a high surface area. The reaction occurs at the liquid-liquid interface. Through SAP catalysis, the hydroformylation of very hydrophobic alkenes, such as octene or dicyclopentadiene, is possible with the water-soluble catalyst [HRh(CO)(tppts)3]. 

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