Long-chain Aldehydes and Terminal Alcohols by Catalytic CO Hydrogenation

摘要

Long-chain aldehydes and terminal alcohols are important feedstocks for plasticizers, detergents and lubricants. Their large-scale production is based on hydroformylation of terminal Cn alkenes (n≥3). Long-chain aldehydes provided by hydroformylation are eventually hydrogenated to the respective alcohols, however, the regioselective production of terminal alcohols is limited by the Markovnikov rule. Noble metal recovery continues to be an issue in homogeneous hydroformylation, so the question may be asked if the heterogeneous FT-technology based on a “one-pot” process can be developed to produce strictly long-chain aldehydes or terminal alcohols. We dealt with this question in the recent past and demonstrated highly selective terminal alcohol formation through CO hydrogenation over ternary Co-Cu-Mn catalysts1. The Anderson-Schulz-Flory chain lengthening probability could be adjusted in these studies to meet the requirement of optimized C8-C14 alcohols yields. The present paper addresses the question of long-chain aldehydes versus terminal alcohols formation.