Rhodium(I) and rhodium(III)-heteropolyacids supported on MCM-41 for the catalytic hydroformylation of styrene derivatives

Rh supported catalysts were prepared by impregnating rhodium(I) and rhodium(III) complexes with and without heteropolyacids for the hydroformylation of styrene derivatives. The effect of the pore size of MCM-41 was considered. The addition of water showed a promoting effect with Rh(III) based catalysts. The amount of water showed also a big effect on the catalytic activity of the Rh(III) supported catalyst. The change of the temperature affects the selectivity of the reaction time of the reaction. Different heteropolyacids such as H3PMo12O40·xH2O (HPA-Mo12) and H3PW12O40·yH2O (HPA-W12) were used as co-catalysts that were impregnated along with rhodium complexes on the inorganic supports. The results showed a clear effect of the heteropolyacid H3PW12O40·yH2O (HPA-W12) in increasing the catalytic activity of the rhodium supported catalyst.