Rhodium ligand-modified catalysts

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. 

Rhodium Ca.ta.lysts. Rhodium carbonyl catalysts for olefin hydroformylation are more active than cobalt carbonyls and can be appHed at lower temperatures and pressures (14). Rhodium hydrocarbonyl [75506-18-2] HRh(CO)4, results in lower -butyraldehyde [123-72-8] to isobutyraldehyde [78-84-2] ratios from propylene [115-07-17, C H, than does cobalt hydrocarbonyl, ie, 50/50 vs 80/20. Ligand-modified rhodium catalysts, HRh(CO)2L2 or HRh(CO)L2, afford /iso-ratios as high as 92/8 the ligand is generally a tertiary phosphine. The rhodium catalyst process was developed joindy by Union Carbide Chemicals, Johnson-Matthey, and Davy Powergas and has been Hcensed to several companies. It is particulady suited to propylene conversion to -butyraldehyde for 2-ethylhexanol production in that by-product isobutyraldehyde is minimized. 

Ligand-Modified Rhodium Process. The triphenylphosphine-modified rhodium oxo process, termed the LP Oxo process, is the industry standard for the hydroformylation of ethylene and propylene as of this writing (ca 1995). It employs a triphenylphosphine [603-35-0] (TPP) (1) modified rhodium catalyst. The process operates at low (0.7—3 MPa (100—450 psi)) pressures and low (80—120°C) temperatures. Suitable sources of rhodium are the alkanoate, 2,4-pentanedionate, or nitrate. A low (60—80 kPa (8.7—11.6 psi)) CO partial pressure and high (10—12%) TPP concentration are critical to obtaining a high (eg, 10 1) normal-to-branched aldehyde ratio. The process, first commercialized in 1976 by Union Carbide Corporation in Ponce, Puerto Rico, has been ficensed worldwide by Union Carbide Corporation and Davy Process Technology. 

An alkene which will give a polar aldehyde product and syn gas are introduced into the reactor containing a non-polar ligand modified rhodium catalyst. Catalyst solution exiting the reactor enters a Flash stage where CO/H2 are purged. The catalyst solution then enters an extractor where it is contacted with a polar solvent. The product aldehyde is captured in the polar solvent in the extractor, then concentrated in the Solvent Removal Column. Polar Solvent is recycled to the Extractor. The Non-Polar catalyst solution is recycled to the reactor (see Figure 2.5). 

In hydroformylating with a polar ligand modified rhodium catalyst to give a relatively non-polar aldehyde product, after the flash column, the catalyst solution is extracted with a non-polar solvent. Polar catalyst recycles from the extractor to the reactor. The non-polar solvent is removed and recycled to the extractor (see Figure 2.6). 

Recently, various rhodium carbene complexes were investigated as catalysts for hydrosilation of olefins, acetylenes, and dienes to see whether carbene ligands modify catalytic activity. All reactions were... 

A similar pattern has always been discussed for rhodium, with hydri-dotetracarbonylrhodium H-Rh(CO)4 as a real catalyst species. The equilibria between Rh4(CO)i2 and the extremely unstable Rh2(CO)s were measured by high pressure IR and compared to the respective equilibria of cobalt [15,16]. But it was only recently that the missing link in rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation, the formation of the mononuclear hydridocomplex under high pressure conditions, has been proven. Even the equilibria with the precursor cluster Rh2(CO)8 could be determined quantitatively by special techniques [17]. Recent reviews on active cobalt and rhodium complexes, also ligand-modified, and on methods for the necessary spectroscopic in situ methods are given in [18,19]. 

Going around the reaction system in Fig. 16, the first problem are poisons for rhodium such as traces of sulfur compounds in the raw materials. 3 valent P-compounds as ligands are highly prone to oxidation according to PR3 + [O] -> 0=PR3. In a continuous process, even traces of peroxides in the starting olefin and traces of oxygen in the synthesis gas accumulate over the time, so meticulous purification steps are a must if ligand-modified rhodium catalysts are used. 

Butanal by hydroformylation of propene is the most important oxo product in terms of volume. Six million metric tons per year of butanals were consumed in 2003, vis-a-vis a capacity of 7.6 million metric tons. Highly chemo- and regioselective processes based on ligand-modified rhodium catalysts have been developed and replaced the original cobalt high pressure technology. 

The use of cobalt carbonyls, modified cobalt catalysts, and ligand-modified rhodium complexes, the three most important types of catalysts in hydroformylation,... 

Union Carbide invented the industrial use of highly active ligand-modified rhodium complexes.90-93 [RhH(CO)(PPh3)3], the most widely used catalyst, operates under mild reaction conditions (90-120°C, 10-50 atm). This process, therefore, is also called low-pressure oxo process. Important features of the rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation are the high selectivity to n-aldehydes (about 92%) and the formation of very low amounts of alcohols and alkanes. Purification of the reactants, however, is necessary because of low catalyst concentrations. 

A variety of enantiopure or enantiomerically enriched phosphines, diphosphines, phosphites, diphosphites, phosphinephosphites, thiols, dithiols, P,N-ligands, and P,S-ligands have been developed as chiral modifiers of rhodium and platinum catalysts [1-7], Representative chiral ligands discussed in this chapter are shown in Figure 7.1. 

Catalyst cycle of Rh(I)-phosphine system. Most mechanistic studies on ligand-modified rhodium catalysts have been performed with HRh(CO)(PPh3)3. Extensive mechanistic studies have revealed that HRh(CO)2(PPh3)2 (18-electron species) is a key active catalyst species, which readily reacts with ethylene at 25°C [43]. Two mechanisms, an associative pathway and a dissociative pathway, were proposed [43-46], depending on the concentration of the catalyst. 

In principle, with cobalt catalysts similar pathways for deactivation exist. Because of the low price of cobalt compared to rhodium, this is less important in unmodified cobalt catalysis, but the deposition of cobalt clusters and metallic cobalt can cause nozzles and valves to plug up, resulting in the shutdown of the plant. In case of a ligand-modified cobalt catalysis, the same problems of ligand deterioration e.g., by oxygen and peroxides, arise, necessitating a meticulous purification of the starting materials. 

The hydroformylation of olefins is one of the largest and most prominent industrial catalytic processes, producing millions of tons of aldehydes annually [102]. Initially, cobalt-carbonyl species were used as catalyst, though rhodium complexes modified by special ligands, usually phosphines, are predominantly used nowadays. Over the last two decades, continued development of new phosphine and phosphite ligands has allowed significant advances in hydroformylation chemistry, especially with respect to catalyst selectivity and stability [103]. 

IR studies of ligand-modified rhodium carbonyl catalysts... 

The cobalt-catalyzed reaction of carbon monoxide and hydrogen with an alkene, hydroformylation, is an extremely important industrial process, but it occurs under vigorous conditions (200-400 bar, 150-200 °C) and is not a particularly selective reaction. In the presence of ligand-modified rhodium catalysts, however, hydroformylation can be carried out under extremely mild conditions (1 bar, 25 C). The catalytic activity of such rhodium complexes is in fact lO -Ky times greater than that of cobalt complexes and side reactions, such as hydrogenation, are significantly reduced. The reactivity of alkenes in hydroformylation follows a similar pattern to that observed in other carbonylation reactions, i.e. linear terminal alkenes react more readily than linear internal alkenes, which in turn are more reactive than branched... 

The fact that water-soluble sulfonated phosphines may combine the properties of a ligand and a surfactant in the same molecule was first mentioned in 1978 by Wilkinson etal. [11] in their study of the hydroformylation of 1-hexene using rhodium and ruthenium catalysts modified with TPPMS (triphenylphosphine mono-... 

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