Hydroformylation

Abstract

It is an industrial process for synthesizing aldehydes and alcohols from olefins and synthesis gas (i.e., carbon monoxide and hydrogen) in the presence of a cobalt or rhodium catalyst at high pressures (100–200 atm) and high temperatures (115–190°C) with the attachment of a new carbon to the less‐substituted end of the double bonds is known as hydroformylation. This process is completed in two stages: the production of aldehydes and the further reduction of aldehydes into alcohols. In addition, the straight‐chain terminal olefins often lead to two isomeric aldehydes or alcohols. Several chemicals have been evaluated for hydroformylation at different temperature and pressure. For vinyl aromatics or vinyl heteroaromatics, the corresponding aldehydes are the major products depending on the catalyst employed. The rhodium‐catalyzed hydroformylation shows high stereospecificity. This reaction has been modified using a group VIB metal complex as catalyst in combination with trace amounts of cobalt or rhodium carbonyl complex.