Hydroformylation Phosphine-modified

Propane, 1-propanol, and heavy ends (the last are made by aldol condensation) are minor by-products of the hydroformylation step. A number of transition-metal carbonyls (qv), eg, Co, Fe, Ni, Rh, and Ir, have been used to cataly2e the oxo reaction, but cobalt and rhodium are the only economically practical choices. In the United States, Texas Eastman, Union Carbide, and Hoechst Celanese make 1-propanol by oxo technology (11). Texas Eastman, which had used conventional cobalt oxo technology with an HCo(CO)4 catalyst, switched to a phosphine-modified Rh catalyst ia 1989 (11) (see Oxo process). In Europe, 1-propanol is made by Hoechst AG and BASE AG (12). 

The substitution of trialkylphosphine for carbon monoxide also makes the metal-hydrogen bond more hydridic in character and results in increased reduction of the initially formed aldehyde to alcohol. Slaugh and Mullineaux (52) compared Co2(CO)g and [Co2(CO)8 + 2PBu3], each at reaction conditions of 150°C, 500 psi, H2/CO I.0, for the hydroformylation of 1-pentene. The products consisted of hexyl aldehydes and hexyl alcohols in the ratios of 95 5 and 30 70, respectively. In a negative aspect of the reaction, they observed 23% hydrogenation of alkene to alkane at a reaction temperature of 195°C with the phosphine-modified catalyst. Tucci (54) reported less alkane formation (4-5%) under more favorable reaction conditions (I60°C, H2/CO 1.2, 1 hour reaction time). 

They constitute the first rhodium phosphine modified catalysts for such a selective linear hydroformylation of internal alkenes. The extraordinary high activity of 32 even places it among the most active diphosphines known. Since large steric differences in the catalyst complexes of these two ligands are not anticipated, the higher activity of 32 compared to 31 might be ascribed to very subtle bite angle effects or electronic characteristics of the phosphorus heterocycles. 

The ejfect of water on the conversion and selectivity of cohalt-catalyzed hydroformylations has long been noticed in industry [7,85,86], A systematic study [87] of this effect in hydroformylation of 1-octene with [Co2(CO)s] with and without P Bu3 revealed that addition of water, and especially when it formed a separate aqueous phase, significantly inaeased the hydrogenation activity of the phosphine-modified catalyst Under the same reaction conditions (190 °C, 56 bar CO H2 1 1, P Co 3 1), approximately 40 % nonanols were formed instead of 5 % observed with water-free solutions. No clear explanation could be given for this phenomenon, although the possible participation of water itself in the hydroformylation reaction through the water gas shift was mentioned. It was also established, that the [Co2(CO)g]-catalyzed hydroformylation was severly retarded in the presence of water. Under the conditions above, 95 % conversion was observed in 15 hour with no added water, while only 10 % conversion to aldehydes (no alcohols) was found in an aqueous/organic biphasic reaction. 

It should be recognized that the stability of cobalt complexes under carbon monoxide can be enhanced by the addition of ligands, as is the case for phosphine-modified cobalt hydroformylation catalysts (57, 58). The stability will also probably depend on properties of the solvent employed. Nevertheless, the plot shown in Fig. 4 appears to be quite useful for assessing long-term cobalt stability under H2/CO in the absence of strongly coordinating solvents or ligands. 

Na5[Co+(CO)3(19)2]5 was used as catalyst for the hydroformylation of 1-hexene and 1-octene in a two phase system without leaching of cobalt into the organic phase.122 The products obtained were almost exclusively aldehydes (4-38%) and very little (0.4-3%) or no alcohol formation122 in contrast with cobalt/phosphine catalysed hydroformylation in organic solvents which give alcohols. The n/i ratios of the aldehydes were low (1.1-2.5),122 however, and never approached that expected for a phosphine modified cobalt catalyst in non-aqueous media324,325,393 (see Table 8). 

In 1961 Heck and Breslow presented a multistep reaction pathway to interpret basic observations in the cobalt-catalyzed hydroformylation.28 Later modifications and refinements aimed at including alternative routes and interpreting side reactions.6 Although not all the fine details of hydroformylation are equally well understood, the Heck-Breslow mechanism is still the generally accepted basic mechanism of hydroformylation.6,17,19,29 Whereas differences in mechanisms using different metal catalysts do exist,30 all basic steps are essentially the same in the phosphine-modified cobalt- and rhodium-catalyzed transformations as well. 

This becomes especially apparent in hydroformylation reactions of internal alkenes, since not only does (E)/(Z)-isomerization take place, but -aldehydes are obtained. Thus, in the hydroformylation of ( )-4-octene by Co2(CO)g, n-nonanal (78%), 2-methyloctanal (10%), 2-ethylheptanal (6%) and 2-pro-pylhexanal (6%) are obtained. This isomerization is supressed with the phosphine-modified catalysts, in the presence of excess phosphine and at high CO pressures. Both carbon monoxide and phosphine can react with a 16-electron complex to provide an 18-electron complex (e.g. 4 — 5 Scheme 2), the reverse (3-hydride elimination is prevented, a requirement for this elimination being the presence of a vacant co-... 

The hydroformylation of conjugated dienes with unmodified cobalt catalysts is slow, since the insertion reaction of the diene generates an tj3-cobalt complex by hydride addition at a terminal carbon (equation 10).5 The stable -cobalt complex does not undergo facile CO insertion. Low yields of a mixture of n- and iso-valeraldehyde are obtained. The use of phosphine-modified rhodium catalysts gives a complex mixture of Cs monoaldehydes (58%) and C6 dialdehydes (42%). A mixture of mono- and di-aldehydes are also obtained from 1,3- and 1,4-cyclohexadienes with a modified rhodium catalyst (equation ll).29 The 3-cyclohexenecarbaldehyde, an intermediate in the hydrocarbonylation of both 1,3- and 1,4-cyclo-hexadiene, is converted in 73% yield, to the same mixture of dialdehydes (cis.trans = 35 65) as is produced from either diene. 

Phosphine-modified rhodium catalysts hydroformylate alkynes to saturated aldehydes.1 The reaction most likely proceeds by a rapid hydrogenation to yield the alkene, followed by hydroformylation. 

Hydroformylation of 2,6-dimethyl-6-hepten-2-ol produces hydroxycitronellal (equation 12).22 Subjecting allyl alcohol to hydroformylation reaction conditions with HCo(CO>4 yields only propanal, isomerization taking place more rapidly than hydroformylation.2 Phosphine-modified rhodium catalysts will convert allyl alcohol to butane-1,4-diol under mild conditions in the presence of excess phosphine, however (equation 13).5 30 31 When isomerization is blocked, hydroformylation proceeds normally (equation 14). An elegant synthesis of the Prelog-Djerassi lactone has been accomplished starting with the hydroformylation of an allylic alcohol (equation IS).32... 

Nitro groups are tolerated in hydroformylation as are amines, provided they are protected. The reaction of o-nitrostyrene gives an intermediate for the synthesis of 3-methylindole (equation 28).38 With a phosphine-modified rhodium catalyst, the reaction is regioselective, placing the formyl group in the a-posi-tion. 

In the Shell process (SHOP) phosphine-modified cobalt-catalyzed hydrofor-mylation is one of the steps in the synthesis of linear alcohols with 12-15 carbon atoms (see Section 7.4.1). Two important characteristics of this reaction should be noted. First, the phosphine-modified precatalyst HCo(CO)3(PBu3) is less active for hydroformylation than HCo(CO)4 but more active for the subsequent hydrogenation of the aldehyde. In this catalytic system both hydroformylation and hydrogenation of the aldehyde are catalyzed by the same catalytic species. Second, the phosphorus ligand-substituted derivatives are more stable than their carbonyl analogues at higher temperatures and lower pressures (see Table 5.1). 

Phosphine-modified cobalt hydroformylation is only used commercially by Shell. It is tightly coupled to Shell s Higher Olefins Process (SHOP, see Metathesis Polymerization Processes by Homogeneous Catalysis) that produces a C4 through C20 mixture of linear, internal alkenes for hydroformylation to detergent-grade alcohols. 

The hydroformylation mechanism for phosphine-modified rhodium catalysts follows with minor modifications the Heck-Breslow cycle. HRh(CO)(TPP)3 [11] is believed to be the precursor of the active hydroformylation species. First synthesized by Vaska in 1963 [98] and structurally characterized in the same year [99], Wilkinson introduced this phosphine-stabilized rhodium catalyst to hydroformylation five years later [100]. As one of life s ironies, Vaska even compared HRh(CO)(TPP)3 in detail with HCo(CO)4 as an example of structurally related hy-drido complexes [98]. Unfortunately he did not draw the conclusion that the rhodium complex should be used in the oxo reaction. According to Wilkinson, two possible pathways are imaginable the associative and the dissociative mechanisms. Preceding the catalytic cycle are several equilibria which generate the key intermediate HRh(CO)2(TPP)2 (Scheme 4 L = ligand). 

Phosphine-modified cobalt catalyst is applied commercially only in the Shell process to hydroformylate olefins of medium chain length (C7-C14). The resulting alcohols are sold under the brand name Dobanol . 

For a recent review on high-pressure NMR studies of phosphine-modified, Co-catalyzed hydroformylation, see C. Dwyer, H. Assumption, J. Coetzee, C. Crause, L. Damoense, and M. Kirk, Coord. Chem. Rev., 2004, 248, 653. 

Catalytic Cycle for Phosphine-Modified, Rh-Catalyzed Hydroformylation... 

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