Hydroformylation future potential

Since the discovery and development of highly efficient Rh catalysts with chiral diphosphites and phosphine-phosphites in the 1990s, the enantioselectivity of asymmetric hydroformylation has reached the equivalent level to that of asymmetric hydrogenation for several substrates. Nevertheless, there still exist substrates that require even further development of more efficient chiral ligands, catalyst systems, and reaction conditions. Diastereoselective hydroformylation is expected to find many applications in the total synthesis of complex natural products as well as the syntheses of biologically active compounds of medicinal and agrochemical interests in the near future. Advances in asymmetric hydrocarboxylation has been much slower than that of asymmetric hydroformylation in spite of its high potential in the syntheses of fine chemicals. 

Since the business of fragrances and odors is always a subject of rapid changes and fashion trends [211], the hydroformylation methodology could be advantageously used to get immediately adapted and to respond to new tendencies in this segment of the society. Especially, the ultimate search for a personahzed perfume, which correlates to the individual person s genotype [212], may contribute to a greater consideration of the potential of the hydroformylation method in the future. 

All these results, findings, and conclusions lead to the expectation that SILP technology offers indeed a very promising way to realize some industrial hydroformylation processes in the future. This optimistic view is supported by the fact that several companies are already operating today large laboratory plants or even pilot plants to explore the economic potential of the technology in much more detail. 

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