Uses
Tris(triphenylphosphine)rhodiu is also known as Wilkinson's catalyst and is commonly used to catalyze the hydrogenation of alkenes. Tris(triphenylphosphine)rhodiu is also used in the catalytic hydroboration of alkenes with catecholborane and pinacolborane and the selective 1,4-reduction of α, β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds.
Purification Methods
It forms dark burgundy crystals from hot EtOH after refluxing for 30minutes. When the solution is heated for only 5minutes, orange crystals are formed. Heating the orange crystals in EtOH yields red crystals. Crystallisation from Me2CO gives the orange crystals. The two forms have similar IR spectra, but the X-ray diffraction patterns are slighly different. [Osborne et al. J Chem Soc (A) 1711 1966, Osborne & Wilkinson Inorg Synth X 67 1967, Bennett & Donaldson Inorg Chem 16 655 1977.] The solubilities are as follows: in CH2Cl2 ~2% (25o), in toluene 0.2% (25o), and less soluble in Me2CO, MeOH, BuOH and AcOH, but insoluble in pet ethers and cyclohexane. It reacts with donor solvents such as pyridine, DMSO and MeCN.
