| abstract |
Hydroformylation of olefins is effected in an organic solvent in the presence of a rhodium complex and a trisubstituted phosphine to give the corresponding aldehydes. Addition of a diphosphinoalkane of the general formula <IMAGE> wherein, in the formula, A1 and A2 are each aryl, R1 and R2 are each aryl or saturated hydrocarbon residues containing one or more carbon atoms, and Z is an alkylene radical whose principal chain contains 2 to 5 carbon atoms and optionally may have one or more lower alkyl substituents, to the hydroformylation reaction system in an amount of 0.20 to 2.5 equivalents per gram atom of the rhodium contained in the rhodium complex markedly prolongs the life of the rhodium catalyst. |