Transformations of formaldehyde and glycolaldehyde during the hydroformylation of formaldehyde in the presence of rhodium catalysts

Hydroformylation of formaldehyde to give glycolaldehyde (GA) in the presence of RhCl(PPh₃)₃, RhCl(CO)(PPh₃)₂, or the RhCl₃ + PPh₃ system inN,N-dimethylacetamide was studied. The hydroformylation is accompanied by the Cannizzaro-Tishchenko reaction, condensation of CH₂O with GA to give C₃-C₁₆ polyoxyaldehydes (POA), and dimerization of GA. The formation of POA, which probably occurs through coordination of GA with a Rh atom, predominates among the side reactions. The optimum conditions for hydroformylation of CH₂O were found to be: RhCl₃ + PPh₃ as the catalyst,T 383 K, 12MPa, H₂O] 1.8 mol L^–1, Rh] 2.5 · 10^–3 g-at. L^–1, and CH₂O] 0.03 g L^–1. At a substrate conversion of 62–67 %, the selectivity of GA formation reaches 96 %, and the yield is 60–65 %.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 75–78, January, 1995.