Rhodium complexed C2-PAMAM dendrimers supported on large pore Davisil silica as catalysts for the hydroformylation of olefins

Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers up to the third generation were grown for the first time on the surface of a large-pore (18 nm) Davisil silica support. The supported dendrimers of generations 0, 1, 2 and 3 were phosphinomethylated and complexed with rhodium. All the generations were found to be very active for the hydroformylation of olefins. The hydroformylation of 1-octene was accomplished with a turnover frequency of 1700 h(-1) at 70 degrees C. The G(1) material was found to be the most active when the different generations were compared at 50% conversion at 70 degrees C.