A NEW IMMOBILIZED RH(I)-CARBONYLATION CATALYST

Homogeneous Rh(I)-species are excellent catalysts for carbonylation. A limiting factor for an economical use of these catalysts is the neces sity of catalyst separation. In the last 20 years, research was focuse d on the immobilization of noble metal catalysts at different supports . Until now, none of the immobilized catalysts is used in industrial p rocesses. In this work, a more sophisticated system was developed lead ing to promising results. It consists of a Rh(I)-catalyst immobilized on an activated carbon. The stability of the catalyst was tested in th e carbonylation of 1,3-butadiene to 3-pentenoic acid. An increase of t he selectivity of pentenoic acid compared to the homogeneous reaction was found by immobilization of the nobel metal. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scie nce B.V. All rights reserved.