A new type of highly active polymer-bound rhodium hydroformylation catalyst

Abstract

A new route of attaching phosphites to a (co)polymer chain is described. These copolymers are used for the preparation of a rhodium phosphite hydroformylation catalyst. The catalytic activity of this polymer-bound system is identical to that of the low molecular weight analogue. The catalysts show a high activity towards the hydroformylation of the otherwise unreactive cyclooctene. From spectroscopic and kinetic data, it was found that only one phosphite is coordinated to the rhodium complex in its active form. An equilibrium between this complex and an inactive complex without phosphite ligands, prohibits its use in continuous flow reactors.