A NOVEL RHODIUM-TRI-<i>N</i>-ALKYLPHOSPHINE CATALYST SYSTEM FOR THE HYDROGENATION OF CARBON MONOXIDE, FORMALDEHYDE, AND GLYCOLALDEHYDE

Abstract

Abstract Syngas treatment of a mixture from rhodium compound, a large equimolar tri-n-alkylphosphine, or tri(α-nonsubstituted alkyl)phosphine, and a solvent gives rise to an orange yellow solution, which is a highly active catalyst for hydrogenation of carbon monoxide to ethylene glycol and methanol. Similarly, under syngas condition, formaldehyde and glycolaldehyde are effectively hydrogenated to methanol and ethylene glycol, respectively, by the same orange yellow catalyst solution.