Hydroformylation reactions isomerization

As in the hydroformylation reaction, isomeric mixtures of the reaction products are often obtained. However, since the different starting materials show a different behaviour in this respect, these isomerizations will be discussed in the special chapters dealing with the single classes of starting compounds. 

The composition of the products of reactions involving intermediates formed by metaHation depends on whether the measured composition results from kinetic control or from thermodynamic control. Thus the addition of diborane to 2-butene initially yields tri-j iAbutylboraneTri-j -butylborane. If heated and allowed to react further, this product isomerizes about 93% to the tributylborane, the product initially obtained from 1-butene (15). Similar effects are observed during hydroformylation reactions however, interpretation is more compHcated because the relative rates of isomerization and of carbonylation of the reaction intermediate depend on temperature and on hydrogen and carbon monoxide pressures (16). 

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). 

The nickel or cobalt catalyst causes isomerization of the double bond resulting in a mixture of C-19 isomers. The palladium complex catalyst produces only the 9-(10)-carboxystearic acid. The advantage of the hydrocarboxylation over the hydroformylation reaction is it produces the carboxyUc acids in a single step and obviates the oxidation of the aldehydes produced by hydroformylation. 

BASF is operating a semicommercial plant for the production of adipic acid via this route.A new route to adipic acid occurs via a sequential carbonylation, isomerization, hydroformylation reactions.The following illustrates these steps ... 

If cobalt carbonylpyridine catalyst systems are used, the formation of unbranched carboxylic acids is strongly favored not only by reaction of a-olefins but also by reaction of olefins with internal double bonds ( contrathermo-dynamic double-bond isomerization) [59]. The cobalt carbonylpyridine catalyst of the hydrocarboxylation reaction resembles the cobalt carbonyl-terf-phos-phine catalysts of the hydroformylation reaction. The reactivity of the cobalt-pyridine system in the hydrocarboxylation reaction is remarkable higher than the cobalt-phosphine system in the hydroformylation reaction, especially in the case of olefins with internal double bonds. This reaction had not found an industrial application until now. 

Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), such as those based on A,A-dialkylimidazolium ions, are gaining importance (Bradley, 1999). The ionic liquids do not evaporate easily and thus there are no noxious fumes. They are also non-inflammable. Ionic liquids dissolve catalysts that are insoluble in conventional organic chemicals. IFP France has developed these solvents for dimerization, hydrogenation, isomerization, and hydroformylation reactions without conventional solvents. For butene dimerization a commercial process exists. RTILs form biphasic systems with the catalyst in the RTIL phase, which is immiscible with the reactants and products. This system is capable of being extended to a list of organometallic catalysts. Industrial Friedel-Crafts reactions, such as acylations, have been conducted and a fragrance molecule tra.seolide has been produced in 99% yield (Bradley, 1999). 

These complexes anchored to a solid via a ligand have been tested for a number of reactions including the hydrogenation, hydroformylation, hydrosilylation, isomerization, dimerization, oligomerization, and polymerization of olefins carbonylation of methanol the water gas shift reaction and various oxidation and hydrolysis reactions (see later for some examples). In most cases, the characterization of the supported entities is very limited the surface reactions are often described on the basis of well-known chemistry, confirmed in some cases by spectroscopic data and elemental analysis. 

However, considerable amounts of 2,3-dihydrofuran 50 and tetrahydro-furan-2-carbaldehyde 53 were present because of an isomerization process. The isomerization takes place simultaneously with the hydroformylation reaction. When the 2,5-dihydrofuran 46 reacts with the rhodium hydride complex, the 3-alkyl intermediate 48 is formed. This can evolve to the 2,3-dihydrofuran 50 via /3-hydride elimination reaction. This new substrate can also give both 2- and 3-alkyl intermediates 52 and 48, respectively. Although the formation of the 3-alkyl intermediate 48 is thermodynamically favored, the acylation occurs faster in the 2-alkyl intermediates 52. Regio-selectivity is therefore dominated by the rate of formation of the acyl complexes. The modification of the phosphorus ligand and the conditions of the reaction make it possible to control the regioselectivity and prepare the 2- or 3-substituted aldehyde as the major product [78]. As far as we know, only two... 

In studies of the isomerization of olefins by HCo(CO)4, it must be borne in mind that the catalyst HCo(CO)4 is consumed stoichiometrically via the hydroformylation reaction with the formation of aldehydes and dicobalt octacarbonyl, as shown by Kirch and Orchin (16) ... 

With regard to the structure of the olefins, tetrasubstituted olefins do not undergo hydroformylation reaction under typical reaction conditions, and olefinic substrates containing functional groups sometimes give poor yields and unexpected products. If there is no plane of symmetry in the substrate across the double bond, at least two isomeric aldehydes are obtained. Although methods for shifting the... 

Cobalt hydrocarbonyl is a very reactive compound. It reacts extremely rapidly with triphenylphosphine, probably by a first-order dissociation mechanism, producing cobalt hydrotricarbonyl triphenylphosphine (44). This demonstrates the very ready replacement of one ligand by another. Cobalt hydrocarbonyl also catalyzes the isomerization of olefins. Under conditions of the hydroformylation reaction, olefin isomerization is observed. But there is controversy as to whether or not rearranged aldehydes (aldehydes which cannot be produced by simple addition to the starting olefin) are produced mainly by rearrangement of an intermediate in the reaction (28, 75, 55) or by reaction of isomerized olefins (55). 

As a result of the recognized role of transition metal hydrides as l reactive intermediates or catalysts in a broad spectrum of chemical reactions such as hydroformylation, olefin isomerization, and hydrogenation, transition metal hydride chemistry has developed rapidly in the past decade (J). Despite the increased interest in this area, detailed structural information about the nature of hydrogen bonding to transition metals has been rather limited. This paucity of information primarily arises since, until recently, x-ray diffraction has been used mainly to determine hydrogen positions either indirectly from stereochemical considerations of the ligand disposition about the metals or directly from weak peaks of electron density in difference Fourier maps. The inherent limi-... 

Of the isomeric aldehydes indicated in Eq. (7.1), the linear aldehyde corresponding to anti-Markovnikov addition is always the main product. The isomeric branched aldehyde may arise from an alternative alkene insertion step to produce the [RCH(Me)Co(CO)3] or [RCH(Me)Rh(CO)(PPh3)2] complexes, which are isomeric to 2 and 8, respectively. Alternatively, hydroformylation of isomerized internal alkenes also give branched aldehydes. The ratio of the linear and branched aldehydes, called linearity, may be affected by reaction conditions, and it strongly depends on the catalyst used. Unmodified cobalt and rhodium carbonyls yield about 3-5 1 mixtures of the normal and iso products. 

Metal-catalyzed reactions of CO with organic molecules have been under investigation since the late 1930s and early 1940s, when Roelen (/) discovered the hydroformylation reaction and Reppe (2) the acrylic acid synthesis and other related carbonylation reactions. These early studies of the carbonyla-tions of unsaturated hydrocarbons led to extremely useful syntheses of a variety of oxygenated products. Some of the reactions, however, suffered from the serious problem that they produced isomeric mixtures of products. For example, the cobalt-catalyzed hydroformylation of propylene gave mixtures of n-butyraldehyde and isobutyraldehyde. 

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 overall stereochemistry of the hydroformylation reaction exhibits syn addition of the hydride and the formyl groups, both with cobalt and rhodium catalysts. Thus in the hydroformylation of 1-methylcy-clohexene, where ( )/(Z)-isomerization cannot occur, the predominate product is franj-2-methylcyclo-hexanecarbaldehyde (equation 7) resulting from the delivery of the aldehyde and the formyl groups from the same face of the alkene.18 Similarly the hydroformylation of (Z)-3-methyl-2-pentene gives mainly the erythro-aldehyde (equation 8).19... 

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... 

The factors affecting the distribution of products formed in the hydroformylation reaction have already received attention in Section II, A,2. The isomerizations of both olefin and acylcobalt carbonyl can be of importance and the extent of these isomerizations will be dependent on carbon... 

The isomerization of alkyl- and acylcobalt carbonyls is important in considering the products of the hydroformylation reaction and has been dealt with in part in Section II, A. Equations (9) and (10) give the most likely mechanism for the isomerization. 

Me3OSbCl6 or CuBr2 gives the neutral vicinal diacyl compound (18), which subsequently isomerizes to a mixture of 17 (the geminal diacyl) and 18. An alternative route giving the mixed diacyl compound Os3(/t-MeCO)-(q-EtCO)(CO)10 is the hydroformylation reaction of Os3H(/i-MeCO)(CO)10 with 136 atm C2H4 CO (68 1) at 140°C (49). 

The interaction of unsaturated molecules, for example olefins and acetylenes, with transition metals is of paramount importance for a variety of chemical processes. Included among such processes are stereospecific polymerization of olefin monomers, the production of alcohols and aldehydes in the hydroformylation reaction, hydrogenation reactions, cyclo-propanation, isomerizations, hydrocyanation, and many other reactions. 

In the case of 38, a significant amoimt of olefin was foimd to isomerize. This observation implies that the isomerization and hydroformylation reactions take place simultaneously. The former process results in the formation of internal olefins which are ultimately converted into aldehydes in the case of 36 and 37. However, the hydroformylation process of the internal olefins is apparently less effective with the indium-containing catalyst 38. This property allows the isolation of substantial yields of internal olefins in catalytic reactions (17-37% after 18 h). It can be explained by a simple reaction scheme involving the individual rate constants of the various processes, as shown in Scheme 18. It appears from the data presented in Table 7 that the rate constants 2 and are larger than fci in the case of the aluminum- and gallium-containing catalysts 36 and 37, whereas the reverse is true for indium-containing 38. 

Some of the organic reactions performed in ILs are hydroformylation, hydrogenation, isomerization, oligomerization, polymerization, C—C bonding, and acid-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts reactions. 

Metal enolates have played a Umited role in the metal-catalyzed isomerization of al-kenes . As illustrated in a comprehensive review by Bouwman and coworkers, ruthenium complex Ru(acac)3 (51) has been used to isomerize a wide range of substituted double bonds, including aUylic alcohols (131), to the corresponding ketones (132) (equation 38) . The isomerization of aUylic alcohols affords products that have useful applications in natural product synthesis and in bulk chemical processes. An elegant review by Fogg and dos Santos shows how these complexes can be used in tandem catalysis, where an alkene is subjected to an initial isomerization followed by a hydroformylation reaction ... 

This homogeneous hydroformylation reaction was conducted in a batch reactor, and because of the nature of the catalyst, isomerization reactions of 1-hexene to 2- and 3-hexenes and hydrogenation reactions of hexenes to hexanes and aldehydes to alcohols were minimized. The following data were obtained at 323 K with an initial concentration of 1-hexene at 1 mol/L in toluene and Pco... 

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