CHEMOSELECTIVITY AND REGIOSELECTIVITY IN HYDROFORMYLATION The control of chemoselectivity is a fundamental concern in Rh-catalyzed hydroformylation

1 RHODIUM-CATALYZED STEREOSELECTIVE HYDROFORMYLATION Reported by Daniel Robbins October 16, 2008 INTRODUCTION Hydroformylation, the conversion of olefins into aldehydes through the addition of CO and H2, is an important industrial reaction that employs homogeneous catalysis by transition metals (Figure 1). Hydroformylation is a valuable reaction in organic chemistry because it produces aldehydes, which are highly versatile chemical intermediates, uses readily available syngas as the primary reagent, is tolerant of many functional groups, and is atom efficient. 2 , 3 , 4 Cobalt complexes were initially used for hydroformylation, but more recently rhodium complexes have been implemented due to their higher activity under milder reaction conditions. The hydroformylation of chiral olefin substrates allows for diastereoselective hydroformylation. Although the linear product is generally formed for most substrates, the branched product is chiral (R ≠ Me) and enantioselective hydroformylation is possible. Methods for Rh-catalyzed, diastereoselective and enantioselective hydroformylation reaction will be discussed.