hydroformylation
Sign in to savethumb|right|300px|Hydroformylation of an alkene (R to R [[organyl groups (i. e. alkyl- or aryl group) or hydrogen)]]
Article
23 sectionsContents
- History
- Mechanism
- Selectivity
- Steric effects
- Electronic effects
- Acyl formation
- Asymmetric hydroformylation
- Processes
- BASF-oxo process
- Exxon process
- Shell process
- Union Carbide process
- Ruhrchemie/Rhone–Poulenc process
- Laboratory process
- Substrates other than alkenes
- Side- and consecutive reactions
- Tandem carbonylation-water gas shift reactions
- Tandem hydroformylation-hydrogenation
- Ligand degradation
- Metals
- See also
- References
- Further reading
thumb|right|300px|Hydroformylation of an alkene (R to R [[organyl groups (i. e. alkyl- or aryl group) or hydrogen)]]
In organic chemistry, hydroformylation, also known as oxo synthesis or oxo process, is an industrial process for the production of aldehydes () from alkenes (). This chemical reaction entails the net addition of a formyl group () and a hydrogen atom to a carbon-carbon double bond. This process has undergone continuous growth since its invention: production capacity reached 6.6 tons in 1995. It is important because aldehydes are easily converted into many secondary products. For example, the resultant aldehydes are hydrogenated to alcohols that are converted to detergents. Hydroformylation is also used in speciality chemicals, relevant to the organic synthesis of fragrances and pharmaceuticals. The development of hydroformylation is one of the premier achievements of 20th-century industrial chemistry.