Catalytic conversions in water Part 11. Highly active water-soluble palladium-catalysts in the hydrocarboxylation of olefins and the alternating copolymerization of CO and olefins in water

Water-soluble palladium complexes of the sodium salt of trisulfonated triph enylphosphine (tppts, P(C6H4-m-SO3Na)(3)) catalyze the aqueous biphasic hyd rocarboxylation of olefins. High catalytic activities were observed with sm all, sparingly water-soluble olefins such as propene (TOF > 2800 h(-1) in t he conversion to n- and isobutyric acid). Although selectivities (n/iso rat io) were rather moderate in the hydrocarboxylation of propene and 1-octene, high selectivities (> 99%) were observed in the conversion of isobutene or cyclopentene to 3-methylbutyric acid and cyclopentanecarboxylic acid, resp ectively. The water-soluble Pd catalyst based on the bidentate phosphine dp ppr-s (1,3-C3H6(P(C6H4-m-SO3Na)(2))(2)) catalyzes the alternating copolymer ization of CO and olefins to polyketones. Activities > 4.0 kg of copolymer per gram Pd per hour were found in the alternating copolymerization of CO a nd ethene. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.