Hydroformylation catalyst and process

Claim 1

In a process for the production of an alkanal- 1 by hydroformylation of an alpha-olefin, the improvement which comprises contacting an alpha-olefin containing between about 3-30 carbon atoms with hydrogen and carbon monoxide at a temperature between about 25° C. and 150° C. and a pressure between about 15 and 3000 psi in the presence of a catalyst consisting essentially of a stabilized complex of rhodium metal, bidentate ligand and monodentate ligand, which catalyst components are provided in a molar ratio of 1 mole of bidentate ligand and between about 1.2-800 moles of monodentate ligand per gram atom of rhodium metal in the hydroformylation medium, and said catalyst complex corresponding to the structural formula: ##STR13## wherein L is a bidentate ligand having the formula: ##STR14## wherein Z is an alicyclic structure; Q is a group VA element selected from nitrogen, phosphorus and arsenic; and R is an organic radical selected from aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic groups containing between one and about 20 carbon atoms; and wherein L' is a monodentate ligand having the formula: Q'R'.sub.3 where Q' is a group VA element selected from nitrogen, phosphorus and arsenic; R' is an organic radical selected from aliphatic, alicyclic and aromatic groups containing between one and about 20 carbon atoms; and the steric parameter θ of Q'R' 3 in the catalyst complex is an apex angle between about 135 and 150 degrees.