Hydroformylation versus hydrocarboxylation of cyclohexene under homogeneous WGSR conditions: The study of Co-2(CO)(8) diphos/THF-H2O system

The catalytic system Co-2(CO)(8)/diphos/THF-H2O, an effective catalyst for carbonylation reactions, was studied for simultaneous hydrocarboxylation and hydroformylation of cyclohexene. Using this catalytic system, cyclohexene with CO and H2O gives cyclohexenecarboxaldehyde and cyclohexenecarboxylic acid as the main reaction products and cyclohexylmethanol as by-product. The catalytic reaction shows that the hydrocarboxylation/hydroformylation ratio is dependent on water concentration and the reaction temperature. The effects of the other reaction variables such as CO pressure and catalyst concentration were also examined.