Highly Regioselective and Rapid Hydroformylation of Alkyl Acrylates Catalyzed by a Rhodium Complex with a Tetraphosphorus Ligand

Abstract

Abstractmagnified imageAlkyl acrylates have been hydroformylated to the linear aldehydes with high regioselectivity (linear/branch>99/1) and extraordinarily high average turnover frequencies (up to 5400 h−1) by using a rhodium complex with a tetraphosphorus ligand. This protocol is in sharp contrast to the most of other processes that favor production of the branched aldehyde (typically>95% branched for most Rh‐catalyzed reaction systems). The high turnover number achieved by this new catalytic system is also remarkable considering the less reactive character of alkyl acrylates to the hydroformylation reaction conditions.