Bifunctional heterogeneous catalyst: A sustainable route for cyclic acetals synthesis through tandem hydroformylation-acetalization reaction.

• Rhodium oxide nanoparticles on zirconium phosphate support. • Synthesized catalyst was utilized for hydroformylation-acetalization reaction. • Regioselectively Linear cyclic acetals (60–99%) with 96–100% conversion were obtained. • Ligand and additive-free synthesis of acetals. • Synthesis of important fuel additive (2-ethyl 1,3 dioxolane). A novel sustainable approach for the synthesis of 2-ethyl 1,3 dioxolane and various short to long-chain or aromatic cyclic acetals through a tandem hydroformylation-acetalization reaction using Rh oxide nanoparticle supported on zirconium phosphate has been established. The Rh oxide nanoparticle supported on zirconium phosphate was synthesized and characterized by various physicochemical methods. The SEM and TEM analysis revealed the average particle size of rhodium oxide was found to be ∼7.56 nm in 2%Rh@ZrP catalyst. Furthermore, the synthesized catalyst was employed to carry out a tandem hydroformylation reaction in a green solvent (ethylene glycol). Experimental results demonstrated that 2 wt.% of Rhodium on zirconium phosphate efficiently activated olefins, leading to the selective formation of cyclic acetals (60–99%) at 80°C for 6 h. In this cascade reaction, significant selectivity towards the desired product, linear cyclic acetals was observed for styrenes. This can be attributed to highly dispersed Rh oxide nanoparticles and plentiful acidic sites on the zirconium phosphate supports, which played a crucial role in tandem hydroformylation and acetalization reactions. The catalyst exhibited the ability to be reused three times without losing significant catalytic activity or selectivity. This is the first report on the synthesis of a fuel additive and other cyclic acetals via a tandem hydroformylation-acetalization reaction using heterogeneous catalysts. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]