Hydroformylation of higher olefins by rhodium/tris-((1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyl)phenyl)phosphites complexes in a fluorocarbon/hydrocarbon biphasic medium: effects of fluorinated groups on the activity and stability of the catalytic system

The synthesis of three fluorous triarylphosphites in which an ‘insulating’ ethylene segment separates the perfluoroalkylgroup from the aryl group is described. The stabilities, solubilities and partition coefficients of these new compounds are reported. The complexes generated in situ from these fluorous triarylphosphites and Rh(acac)(CO)2 have been tested as catalysts for the hydroformylation of various olefins under fluorous biphasic conditions. The activities and the selectivities were found to vary markedly with the position of the perfluoroalkylgroup on the aromatic ring. The possibility to recover the catalytic system was also investigated from consecutive recycling experiments.