Backbone-Modified Bisdiazaphospholanes for Regioselective Rhodium-Catalyzed Hydroformylation of Alkenes

A series of tetraaryl bisdiazaphospholane (BDP) ligands were prepared varying the phosphine bridge, backbone, and substituents in the 2- and 5-positions of the diazaphospholane ring. The parent acylhydrazine backbone was transformed to an alkylhydrazine via a borane reduction procedure. These reduced ligands contained an all sp3 hybridized ring mimicking the all sp3 phospholane of (R,R)-Ph-BPE, a highly selective ligand in asymmetric hydroformylation. The reduced bisdiazaphospholane (red-BDP) ligands were shown crystallographically to have an increased C–N–N–C torsion anglethis puckering resembles the structure of (R,R)-Ph-BPE and has a dramatic influence on regioselectivity in rhodium catalyzed hydroformylation. The red-BDPs demonstrated up to a 5-fold increase in selectivity for the branched aldehyde compared to the acylhydrazine parent ligands. This work demonstrates a facile procedure for increased branched selectivity from the highly active and accessible class of BDP ligands in hydroformylation.