Highly regioselective hydroformylation of styrene and its derivatives catalyzed by Rh complex with tetraphosphorus ligands.

Styrene has been hydroformylated to the linear aldehyde with surprisingly high regioselectivity (l/b up to 22 for styrene) by using Rh complex with tetraphosphorus ligand. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest linear regioselectivity reported for the hydroformylation of styrene and its derivatives. This protocol is in sharp contrast to other processes that favor producing branched aldehyde (typically >95% branched for most bidentate systems).