Organic Ligand-Free Hydroformylation with Rh Particles as Catalyst^†

An efficient and organic ligand-free heterogeneous catalytic system for hydroformylation of olefins is highly desirable for both academy and industry. In this study, simple Rh black was employed as a heterogeneous catalyst for hydroformylation of olefins in the absence of organic ligand. The Rh black catalyst showed good catalytic activity for a broad substrate scope including the aliphatic and aromatic olefins, affording the desired aldehydes in good yields. Taking the hydroformylation of ethylene as an example, 86% yield of propanal and TOF of 200 h^–1 were obtained, which was superior to the reported homogeneous catalytic systems. In addition, the catalyst could be reused five times without loss of activity under identical reaction conditions, and the Rh leaching was negligible after each cycle.