Triphenyl phosphite catalysts, hydroformylation

Dicyclopentadiene has produced some interesting results. With rhodium catalyst at 115°C in tetrahydrofuran (THF), the dialdehyde was produced in good yield at 180°C that reaction proceeds further to form the diol in 67% yield (67). With a rhodium catalyst modified by excess triphenyl phosphite, the unsaturated monoaldehyde was obtained in a rapid reaction under very mild conditions (68, 69). The nonstrained 5-membered ring olefin required more strenuous conditions for hydroformylation. Either compound could be obtained in good yield by proper choice of conditions. 

Parlevliet has shown that calix[4]arene based monophosphites can exist in different conformations [45]. By using the different conformations as ligands in the rhodium catalyzed hydroformylation of 1-octene he showed that the exact conformation influenced the performance of the catalyst. Some of the conformations behaved more like triphenyl phosphite, whereas others showed catalytic results like bulky monophosphites, giving high rates with moderate selectivity for the linear aldehyde. 

Ethyl acrylate, the hydroformylation of which has been studied many times, is an interesting case. Tanaka et al. [66] found that the ratio of l b could be varied from 100 0 (80 °C and 1 bar) to 1 99 (40 °C and 30 bar) by using a rhodium catalyst and triphenyl phosphite as the ligand. Electronic arguments lead to the same result as for trifluoropropene because the frontier orbitals on ethyl acrylate are the same. Thus, high pressures lead to the expected result. 

Ligand metallation. In early transition metal polymerization catalysis often metalation of the ligand occurs leading to inactive catalysts. In late transition metal chemistry the same reactions occur, but now the complexes formed represent a dormant site and catalyst activity can often be restored. Work-up of rhodium-phosphite catalyst solutions after hydroformylation often shows partial formation of metallated species, especially when bulky phosphites are used [50]. Dihydrogen elimination or alkane elimination may lead to the metallated complex. The reaction is reversible for rhodium and thus the metallated species could function as a stabilized form of rhodium during a catalyst recycle. Many metallated phosphite complexes have been reported, but we mention only two, one for triphenyl phosphite and rhodium [51, 52] (see Figure 19) and one for a bulky phosphite and iridium [53]. 

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