Industrially applied and relevant transformations of 1,3-butadiene using homogeneous catalysts

In recent decades, the use of 1,3-butadiene as a comparably cheap and abundant raw material for new applications has attracted more and more interest, specifically in the chemical industry. The present review covers several of the most important homogeneously catalyzed processes and technologies which are currently used or have the potential to produce fine and bulk chemicals from 1,3-butadiene. As an example, palladium-catalyzed telomerizations provide valuable chemicals through the selective dimerization of 1,3-dienes with the simultaneous addition of various nucleophiles, which can be used for the synthesis of 1-octene, 1-octanol, and various lactones. On the other hand, direct carbonylation allows the selective introduction of functional groups onto 1,3-dienes, such as carbonyl, carboxyl or ester groups. The key to success in achieving these industrially relevant conversions of 1,3-butadiene was mainly the development of innovative efficient catalysts. We hope this review will make readers familiar with the industrially applied and relevant transformations of 1,3-butadiene and inspire them to further explore new and advanced systems.