Phosphine Ligands for the Hydroformylation of Allyl Alcohol

Allyl alcohol has become an attractive feedstock for commercial organic synthesis after the development and technical-scale implementation of cost-effective methods for its manufacturing. Its major applications include hydroformylation to obtain C4 aldehyde alcohols in the presence of catalytic rhodium complexes, followed by their hydrogenation to 1,4-butanediol as the principal product. The development of phosphine ligands that are used in the hydroformylation reaction and commercial processes to obtain 1,4-butanediol from allyl alcohol are discussed.