Rhodium catalysis hydroformylation

In contrast to triphenylphosphine-modified rhodium catalysis, a high aldehyde product isomer ratio via cobalt-catalyzed hydroformylation requires high CO partial pressures, eg, 9 MPa (1305 psi) and 110°C. Under such conditions alkyl isomerization is almost completely suppressed, and the 4.4 1 isomer ratio reflects the precursor mixture which contains principally the kinetically favored -butyryl to isobutyryl cobalt tetracarbonyl. At lower CO partial pressures, eg, 0.25 MPa (36.25 psi) and 110°C, the rate of isomerization of the -butyryl cobalt intermediate is competitive with butyryl reductive elimination to aldehyde. The product n/iso ratio of 1.6 1 obtained under these conditions reflects the equihbrium isomer ratio of the precursor butyryl cobalt tetracarbonyls (11). 

J. Herwig, R. Eischer in Rhodium-catalyzed Hydroformylation in Catalysis by Metal Complexes (P. W. N. M. van Leewen, C. Claver eds.), Kluwer Academic Publisher, The Netherlands,... 

Branching at an olefinic carbon atom inhibited the reaction markedly, the most dramatic case being that of 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene. It should be noted that the product in this case is nearly exclusively 3,4-dimethylpen-taldehyde for either cobalt or rhodium catalysis (7). Thus, a general rule that products containing a formyl group attached to a quaternary carbon atom are not formed (49) remains valid. Hydroformylation proceeds only after isomerization has occurred. 

With cobalt catalysts, hydroformylation of ethyl cinnamate gave 91% of the hydrogenation product ethyl hydrocinnamate (15) and only 8% of the expected lactone, 16 (72). However, rhodium catalysis was effective in directing the reaction in favor of hydroformylation (70). The comparative results obtained with cobalt and rhodium are outlined in Table XXV. 

Hydroformylation - [CARBON MONOXIDE] (Vol 5) - [OXO PROCESS] (Vol 17) -of allyl alcohol [ALLYL ALCOHOL AND MONOALLYL DERIVATIVES] (Vol 2) -catalysts for [CATALYSIS] (Vol 5) -C-19 dicarboxylic acids from [DICARBOXYLIC ACIDS] (Vol 8) -of ethylene [ETHYLENE] (Vol 9) -of ethylene [PROPYL ALCOHOLS - N-PROPYLALCOLHOL] (Vol 20) -of maleate and fumarate esters [MALEIC ANHYDRIDE, MALEIC ACID AND FUMARIC ACID] (Vol 15) -phosphine catalyst [PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS] (Vol 18) -platinum-group metal catalysts for [PLATINUM-GROUP METALS] (Vol 19) -rhodium catalysis [PLATINUM-GROUP METALS, COMPOUNDS] (Vol 19) -ruthenium cmpds or catalyst [PLATINUM-GROUP METALS, COMPOUNDS] (Vol 19) -use of coordination compounds [COORDINATION COMPOUNDS] (Vol 7)... 

Homogeneous unmodified or ligand-modified rhodium catalysts are predominantly utilized for the transformation of olefins with a chain length major advantages of rhodium catalysis are the reduced syngas pressure and lower reaction temperatures. These features have also been recognized by the chemical industry. Thus, in 1980 less than 10% of hydroformylation was conducted with rhodium, and by 1995 this had been increased to about 80% [3]. In some cases, a combination of Co and Rh can be advantageous [4]. 

Scheme 7.49 Domino hydroformylation-aldol reaction catalysed chiral amine catatysis and rhodium catalysis.

Scheme 7.51 Three-component domino hydroformylation-Mannich reaction catalysed by chiral amine catalysis and rhodium catalysis.

Finally, Union Carbide has developed the hydroformylation of internal olefins by rhodium catalysis using very bulky phosphites. Given the present burst of asymmetric catalysis, the search of adequate chiral ligands for asymmetric hydroformylation of prochiral olefins achieving high e.e.s is a real challenge. 

Polymer-supported catalysts incorporating organometaUic complexes also behave in much the same way as their soluble analogues (28). Extensive research has been done in attempts to develop supported rhodium complex catalysts for olefin hydroformylation and methanol carbonylation, but the effort has not been commercially successful. The difficulty is that the polymer-supported catalysts are not sufftciendy stable the valuable metal is continuously leached into the product stream (28). Consequendy, the soHd catalysts fail to eliminate the problems of corrosion and catalyst recovery and recycle that are characteristic of solution catalysis. 

In this context, the use of ionic liquids with halogen-free anions may become more and more popular. In 1998, Andersen et al. published a paper describing the use of some phosphonium tosylates (all with melting points >70 °C) in the rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation of 1-hexene [13]. More recently, in our laboratories, we found that ionic liquids with halogen-free anions and with much lower melting points could be synthesized and used as solvents in transition metal catalysis. [BMIM][n-CgHi7S04] (mp = 35 °C), for example, could be used as catalyst solvent in the rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation of 1-octene [14]. 

Styrene, a-ethyl-asymmetric hydroformylation catalysts, platinum complexes, 6, 266 asymmetric hydrogenation catalysts, rhodium complexes, 6, 250 Styrene, a-methyl-asymmetric carbonylation catalysis by palladium complexes, 6, 293 carbonylation... 

Rhodium complexes with chiral dithiolato and dithiother ligands have been studied in rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric hydroformylation. In all instances, enantioselectivities were low.391-393 Catalysis with compounds containing thiolate ligands has been reviewed.394... 

No catalyst has an infinite lifetime. The accepted view of a catalytic cycle is that it proceeds via a series of reactive species, be they transient transition state type structures or relatively more stable intermediates. Reaction of such intermediates with either excess ligand or substrate can give rise to very stable complexes that are kinetically incompetent of sustaining catalysis. The textbook example of this is triphenylphosphine modified rhodium hydroformylation, where a plot of activity versus ligand metal ratio shows the classical volcano plot whereby activity reaches a peak at a certain ratio but then falls off rapidly in the presence of excess phosphine, see Figure... 

The method of catalyst immobilisation appeared to affect its performance in catalysis. Catalyst obtained by method II showed a low selectivity in the hydroformylation of 1-octene (l b aldehyde ratio was even lower than 2) at a very high rate and high yields of isomerised alkenes (Table 3.2, entry 2), whereas procedure IV resulted in a catalyst that was highly selective for the linear aldehyde (with a l b ratio of 37) (entry 5). In accordance with examples from literature it is likely that procedure II gave rise to the ionic bonding of ligand-free rhodium cations on the slightly acidic silica surface [29],... 

---