Investigation on heterogeneous Rh catalysts for the hydroformylation of 1,3-butadiene to adipic aldehyde

Adipic aldehyde, a precursor for polymers, has significant industrial applications, where the hydroformylation of 1,3-butadiene is a promising route to fabricate adipic aldehyde. However, the heterogeneous hydroformylation of 1,3-butadiene has been rarely reported. In this work, we reported ligand-modified Rh-supported single-atom catalysts and investigated them for efficient hydroformylation of 1,3-butadiene. Among the selected phosphine ligand candidates, the L11 ligand (NiXantphos) coordinated Rh atoms could achieve the highest selectivity to adipic aldehyde. Furthermore, in situ CO DRIFTS indicated that active species similar to homogeneous catalysts were formed on the surface of the ligand modified and supported Rh catalyst during the reaction, demonstrating the similar hydroformylation mechanism and origins of the various products.