Rhodium-tris(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)phosphine catalyzed hydroformylation of dienes to dialdehydes in supercritical carbon dioxide with high activity

Rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation of 1,5-hexadiene and 1,7-octadiene to corresponding dialdehydes was investigated in compressed CO₂ and in toluene using different fluorinated phosphine compounds as ligands. A rhodium complex using tris(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)phosphine is highly effective in compressed CO₂ for double hydroformylation of 1,5-hexadiene, whose TOF value is much larger than those reported so far. It has been shown that this ligand is effective also for the hydroformylation of 1,7-octadiene and scCO₂ is a better solvent than a conventional organic solvent of toluene for the title reaction.