Process or making 3-hydroxyaldehydes

Abstract

This invention relates to a process for making 3-hydroxyaldehydes having 4 or more carbon atoms by intimately contacting (a) 1,2-epoxides having 3 or more carbon numbers, (b) ditertiary phosphine-modified cobalt carbonyl catalyst, said phosphine being a hydrocarbylene-bis(monophosphabicyclononane) in which each phosphorus atom is joined to hydrocarbylene and is a member of a bridge linkage without being a bridgehead atom and which hydrocarbylene-bis(monophosphabicyclononane) has 11 to 80 carbon atoms, 5 to 12 carbon atoms thereof together with a phosphorus atom being members of each of the two bicyclic skeletal structures, (c) carbon monoxide, and (d) hydrogen, the molar ratio of carbon monoxide to hydrogen being from about 4:1 to about 1:6, in liquid-phase solution in an inert reaction solvent, at a temperature of from about 30.degree. C. to about 150.degree. C. and a pressure of from about 50 psi to about 10,000 psi. Acids and promoter salts may be added to the reaction mixture to promote the hydroformylation reaction.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.