Highly active cationic cobalt(II) hydroformylation catalysts

Charging up cobalt for hydroformylation Hydroformylation reactions are applied at massive scale in the chemical industry to transform olefins into aldehydes. The original catalysts were neutral cobalt complexes. Hoodet al. now report that positively charged cobalt complexes, stabilized by chelating phosphine ligands, show higher activities at lower pressures than their neutral counterparts, approaching the activities of precious rhodium catalysts. These charged catalysts are particularly adept at accelerating the reactions of internal olefins while avoiding decomposition. Spectroscopic studies implicate the involvement of 19-electron intermediates in the catalytic cycle.Science , this issue p.542