Hydrogenation and hydroformylation catalysis with polydentate phosphine ruthenium complexes

Abstract

Rhuthenium complexes of the type RuCl 2(tripod) (tripod = N(CH 2CH 2PPh 2) 3, P(CH 2CH 2PPh 2) 3, H 3C-C(CH 2PPh 2) 3) and RuCl 2(tetraphos-1), (tetraphos-1 = (Ph 2PCH 2CH 2P(Ph)CH 2) 2) catalyze the hydrogenation of unsaturated organic substrates such as olefins, aldehydes and ketones at 100° C and 80 atm pressure in ethanol. The hydrogenation rates increase in the presence of ammonium and silver salts, and with increases in temperature and pressure. These complexes also catalyze the hydroformylation of ethylene and 1-hexene at 150 °C and 100 atm of H 2 + CO(H 2:CO = 1) in dioxane with good selectivity for the production of linear aldehydes, but with simultaneous reduction products.