The reaction of olefins with formaldehyde catalyzed by [Rh(κ²-P,P-dppe)₂]⁺ is another way to carry out the olefin hydroformylation.

The hydroformylation of olefins with formaldehyde has several advantages over the traditional method: (a) it enables the reaction to occur under atmospheric pressure of an inert gas, (b) it does not require high-pressure equipments, and (c) it avoids the use of lethal carbon monoxide.

The kinetic and mechanism of the reaction with formaldehyde catalyzed by a cationic bis(dppe)rhodium complex is simpler than the hydroformylation reactions carried out under syn-gas conditions.

Experimental and theoretical DFT calculations corroborate that hydroformylation of 1-hexene with formaldehyde catalyzed by a cationic bis(dppe)rhodium complex do proceed via hydroacylation mechanism rather than a classic hydroformylation mechanism.

To the best of our knowledge, there are not previous reports in the open literature of the kinetics of the hydroformylation of olefins by using formaldehyde.