The present invention relates to catalyst compositions for hydroformylation processes and to hydroformylation processes utilizing certain catalysts. In one aspect, a catalyst composition for a hydroformylation process comprises (a) a transition metal; (b) a monophosphine; and (c) a tetraphosphine having the structure described herein, and wherein the composition comprises at least 40 moles of monophosphine per mole of transition metal.

The present invention relates to methods for slowing deactivation of a catalyst and/or slowing tetraphosphine ligand usage in a hydroformylation process. In one aspect, a method comprises (a) contacting an olefin with carbon monoxide, hydrogen and a catalyst, the catalyst comprising (A) a transition metal, (B) a tetraphosphine having the structure described herein, and, optionally, (C) a monophosphine having the structure described herein, the contacting conducted in one or more reaction zones and at hydroformylation conditions; and (b) adding additional monophosphine having the structure described herein to a reaction zone.

The present disclosure provides a catalyst system having a salan catalyst compound and borate or aluminate activators comprising cations having alkyl groups and methods for polymerizing olefins using such catalyst systems. In still another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a polymerization process comprising a) contacting one or more olefin monomers with a catalyst system comprising: i) an activator as described herein, ii) a catalyst compound as described herein, and iii) optional support.

The invention relates to oligomerization of olefins, such as ethylene, to higher olefins, such as a mixture of 1-hexene and 1-octene, using a catalyst system that comprises a) a source of chromium b) one or more activators and c) a phosphacycle-containing ligating compound. Additionally, the invention relates to a phosphacycle-containing ligating compound and a process for making said compound.

An oxidative homocoupling method of synthesizing certain 2,2-bithiophenes from thiophenes using oxygen as the terminal oxidant is disclosed. In non-limiting examples, the method uses oxygen along with a catalytic system that includes palladium, an assistive ligand, and a non-palladium metal additive to catalyze one of the following reactions:

##STR00001##

Associated catalytic systems and compositions are also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a chrome compound composed of non-coordinating anions and a trivalent chrome cation, a reactant of the chrome compound and a bidentate ligand, an ethylene oligomerization reaction catalyst system using the chrome compound and the reactant, and a method for preparing an ethylene oligomer using the catalyst system. Through the above conformation, the present invention can selectively produce 1-hexene and 1-octene with high activity while omitting the use of methylaluminoxane (MAO), and can provide an ethylene oligomerization process more suitable for mass production.

A highly efficient, Z-selective ring-closing metathesis system for the formation of macrocycles using a stereoretentive, ruthenium-based catalyst supported by a dithiolate ligand is reported. This catalyst is demonstrated to be remarkably active as observed in initiation experiments showing complete catalyst initiation at 20 C. within 10 min. Using easily accessible diene starting materials bearing a Z-olefin moiety, macrocyclization reactions generated products with significantly higher Z-selectivity in appreciably shorter reaction times, in higher yield, and with much lower catalyst loadings than in previously reported systems. Macrocyclic lactones ranging in size from twelve-membered to seventeen-membered rings are synthesized in moderate to high yields (68-79% yield) with excellent Z-selectivity (95%-99% Z).

An oxidative homocoupling method of synthesizing certain 2,2-bithiophenes from thiophenes using oxygen as the terminal oxidant is disclosed. In non-limiting examples, the method uses oxygen along with a catalytic system that includes palladium, an assistive ligand, and a non-palladium metal additive to catalyze one of the following reactions: ##STR00001## Associated catalytic systems and compositions are also disclosed.

Methods and a system for manufacturing a base stock from an ethanol stream are provided. An example method includes dehydrating an ethanol stream to form an impure ethylene stream, recovering an ethylene stream from the impure ethylene stream, and oligomerizing the ethylene stream to form a raw oligomer stream. A light olefinic stream is distilled from the raw oligomer stream and blended with the ethylene stream prior to the oligomerization. A heavy olefinic stream is distilled from the raw oligomer stream and hydro-processed to form a hydro-processed stream. The hydro-processed stream is distilled to form the base stock.

The invention relates to oligomerization of olefins, such as ethylene, to higher olefins, such as a mixture of 1-hexene and 1-octene, using a catalyst system that comprises a) a source of chromium b) one or more activators and c) a phosphacycle-containing ligating compound. Additionally, the invention relates to a phosphacycle-containing ligating compound and a process for making said compound.