Olefin hydroformylation reaction

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). 

Aliphatic Aldehyde Syntheses. Friedel-Crafts-type aUphatic aldehyde syntheses are considerably rarer than those of aromatic aldehydes. However, the hydroformylation reaction of olefins (185) and the related oxo synthesis are effected by strong acid catalysts, eg, tetracarbonylhydrocobalt, HCo(CO)4 (see Oxo process). 

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). 

Garbonylation of Olefins. The carbonylation of olefins is a process of immense industrial importance. The process includes hydroformylation and hydrosdylation of an olefin. The hydroformylation reaction, or oxo process (qv), leads to the formation of aldehydes (qv) from olefins, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and a transition-metal carbonyl. The hydro sdylation reaction involves addition of a sdane to an olefin (126,127). One of the most important processes in the carbonylation of olefins uses Co2(CO)g or its derivatives with phosphoms ligands as a catalyst. Propionaldehyde (128) and butyraldehyde (qv) (129) are synthesized industrially according to the following equation ... 

Cationic phosphine ligands containing guanidiniumphenyl moieties were originally developed in order to make use of their pronounced solubility in water [72, 73]. They were shown to form active catalytic systems in Pd-mediated C-C coupling reactions between aryl iodides and alkynes (Castro-Stephens-Sonogashira reaction) [72, 74] and Rh-catalyzed hydroformylation of olefins in aqueous two-phase systems [75]. 

Synthesis gas is an important intermediate. The mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen is used for producing methanol. It is also used to synthesize a wide variety of hydrocarbons ranging from gases to naphtha to gas oil using Fischer Tropsch technology. This process may offer an alternative future route for obtaining olefins and chemicals. The hydroformylation reaction (Oxo synthesis) is based on the reaction of synthesis gas with olefins for the production of Oxo aldehydes and alcohols (Chapters 5, 7, and 8). 

Synthesis gas is also an important building block for aldehydes from olefins. The catalytic hydroformylation reaction (Oxo reaction) is used with many olefins to produce aldehydes and alcohols of commercial importance. 

A simplified mechanism for the hydroformylation reaction using the rhodium complex starts by the addition of the olefin to the catalyst (A) to form complex (B). The latter rearranges, probably through a four-centered intermediate, to the alkyl complex (C). A carbon monoxide insertion gives the square-planar complex (D). Successive H2 and CO addition produces the original catalyst and the product ... 

The catalytic hydroformylation of olefins is discussed in Chapter 5. The reaction of propylene with CO and H2 produces n-butyraldehyde as the main product. Isobutyraldehyde is a by-product °... 

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. 

The hydroformylation reaction strategy has recently been extended, in a novel way, to the manufacture of primary amines by hydroaminomethylation of olefins with ammonia in a two-phase system. Thus, 1-pentene was reacted with ammonia here hydroformylation to an aldehyde, with CO and H2, with subsequent reductive amination occurs in a domino reaction. The catalyst was Rh/Ir/TPPS (Zimmermann et al., 1999). 

Betzemeier et al. (1998) have used f-BuOOH, in the presence of a Pd(II) catalyst bearing perfluorinated ligands using a biphasic system of benzene and bromo perfluoro octane to convert a variety of olefins, such as styrene, p-substituted styrenes, vinyl naphthalene, 1-decene etc. to the corresponding ketone via a Wacker type process. Xia and Fell (1997) have used the Li salt of triphenylphosphine monosulphonic acid, which can be solubilized with methanol. A hydroformylation reaction is conducted and catalyst recovery is facilitated by removal of methanol when filtration or extraction with water can be practised. The aqueous solution can be evaporated and the solid salt can be dissolved in methanol and recycled. 

The hydroformylation reaction was discovered by Otto Roelen in 1938 (2,3) while investigating the influence of olefins on the Fischer-Tropsch reaction (/). Particularly in commercial publications, it has been termed the oxo reaction the more proper term, hydroformylation, was proposed by Adkins (4). 

Thus far, we have discussed the transition metal complex-catalyzed hydrogenation of C=C, C=0, and C N bonds. In this section, another type of transition metal complex-mediated reaction, namely, the hydroformylation of olefins, is presented. 

Abstract This chapter presents the latest achievements reported in the asymmetric hydroformylation of olefins. It focuses on rhodium systems containing diphosphites and phosphine-phosphite ligands, because of their significance in the subject. Particular attention is paid to the mechanistic aspects and the characterization of intermediates in the hydroformylation of vinyl arenes because these are the most important breakthroughs in the area. The chapter also presents the application of this catalytic reaction to vinyl acetate, dihydrofurans and unsaturated nitriles because of its industrial relevance. 

The hydroformylation reaction that converts olefins into aldehydes is the largest volume homogeneous transition-metal catalyzed reaction used today. This reaction has been extensively studied and nowadays a number of efficient catalysts make it possible to control the regioselectivity of the reaction to give terminal or internal aldehydes (Scheme 1). 

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) ... 

Although Eq. (3) indicates that CO absorption is required for aldehyde formation, it has been shown by Karapinka and Orchin 18) that at 25° and with a moderate excess of olefin the rate of reaction and the yield of aldehyde are similar when either 1 atm of CO or 1 atm of Nj is present. Obviously CO is not essential for the reaction and a CO-deficient intermediate, probably an acylcobalt tricarbonyl, can be formed under these conditions. The relative rates of HCo(CO)4 cleavage of tricarbonyl and tetracarbonyl are not known, and thus the stage at which CO is absorbed in the stoichiometric hydroformylation of olefins under CO is not known with certainty. Heck (19) has shown conclusively that acylcobalt tetracarbonyls are in equilibrium with the acylcobalt tricarbonyl ... 

Essentially the same sequence of reactions was proposed (22a) to explain the isomerization of olefins which accompanies the stoichiometric hydroformylation of olefins. In particular, it has been suggested that the active catalyst is cobalt hydrotricarbonyl, which first adds by Markownikoff addition and is then eliminated in the opposite direction ... 

The hydroformylation of olefins discovered by Otto Roelen [ 151 ] is one of the most important industrial homogeneously catalyzed reactions [152,153] for the synthesis of aldehydes with an estimated production of more than 9.2 million t in 1998 [ 153]. Hydroformylation is the addition of hydrogen and carbon monoxide to a C,C double bond. Industrial processes are based on cobalt or rhodiiun catalysts according to Eq. 1. The desired products are linear (n-) and branched (i-) aldehydes, in which the hnear products are generally favored for subsequent processing. 

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