| abstract |
The present invention relates to a process for producing 4-hydroxybutyraldchyde, characterized in that allyl alcohol dissolved in polar solvents is reacted with CO and H 2 in the presence of a catalytic system which is formed from a rhodium complex and a cyclobutane ligand which contains at least two trans-coordinated 1,3-dialkylphenyl- phosphinomethyl groups, with the exclusion of catalysts which contain an aliphatic, araliphatic or cycloaliphatic phosphine as ligand. In which R 1 is alkyl, preferably methyl, ethyl or propyl R 2 is H or an alkoxy group, R 3 and R 4 independently of one another, are H, CH 2 OR 1 , CH 2 O-aralkyl, CH 2 OH, CH 2 -[P(3,5-R 1 ,R 1 -4-R 2 -phenyl)2] or CH 2 O-(CH 2 -CH 2 -O) m -H where m is a number from 1 to 1000. |