The purpose of this research is to explore the platinum catalyzed asymmetric hydroformylation reaction of prochiral alkenes to afford a method of synthesis of optically pure aldehydes. Such a synthesis generates a new carbon-carbon bond and an asymmetric center while introducing the useful aldehyde functionality. Thus it provides a direct route to certain biologically active molecules and key chiral intermediates vital to the synthesis of complex structures. An understanding and the elaboration of this reaction will be achieved by fine tuning the catalyst through the use of chelating phosphine ligands. The ligands will be synthesized such they possess different electronic and steric properties designed to alter the ratio of branched to normal aldehydes while maximizing the enantiomeric excess of the products. A variety of substituted alkenes will be hydroformylated in an effort of only to understand the electronic and steric requirements in the alkene substrate, but also to provide a selection of chiral building blocks.
