Dendritic SBA-15 supported Wilkinson's catalyst for hydroformylation of styrene

After PAMAM (polyamidoamine) dendrimers have been successfully grown in SBA-15 mesoporous materials, Wilkinson's catalyst (RhCl(PPh₃)₃) precursor has been tethered on these dendritic supports to produce heterogeneous catalysts for hydroformylation reaction of styrene. SBA-15 has been functionalized by two methods. In the passivation method, the silanols outside the SBA-15 pores have been passivated to preclude the rhodium precursor to be tethered outside the channels. The rhodium catalysts supported in the pore channels of this passivated SBA-15 show positive dendritic effects in enhancing the catalytic activity, regio-selectivity and stability of the catalyst by minimizing the leaching of the rhodium complex catalyst from the catalyst support to the liquid-phase media.