Ruthenium complexes, reactions rhodium phosphine system

The carbonyl [Ru3(CO),2] is a good cocatalyst for the low pressure hydroformylation of internal alkenes using the classic rhodium phosphine [HRh(CO)(PPh3),] system in the presence of an excess of triphenylphosphine (P/Rh = 200) (22). Starting from a mixture of hex-2- and hex-3-ene, the addition of [Ru3(CO),2l (Rh/Ru = 1/1) increased both the reaction rate and the n/iso ratio of heptanals. More recently, Poilblanc and coworkers (23) have prepared a mixed ruthenium-rhodium complex formulated as [CIRh(/i-CO)(//-dppm)2Ru(CO)2] (dppm is Ph2PCH2PPh2). This species shows catalytic activity in the hydroformylation of pent-l-ene at 40 bar (H2/C0= 1/1) and 75°C. Conversion to hexanals was 90% in 24 hours and the linearity reached 70%. No further report has appeared to determine the role of the two metals in this catalysis. 

The present interest in asymmetric catalysis was demonstrated by awarding Nobel prizes to three winners W. S. Knowles (USA) for elaboration of rhodium complex catalysts effective in asymmetric synthesis of anti-Parkinson medicine, R. Noyori (Japan) for elaboration of a new catalytic system based on chiral ruthenium-phosphine complex catalysts that are very effective in hydrogenation reactions, and B. Sharpless (USA) for elaboration of epoxidation and other reactions under the action of chiral titanium complexes. 

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