Industrially, aldehydes are produced annually on a multimillion-tonne scale via the hydroformylation of olefins with syngas (CO/H₂ mixture). Nonetheless, this transformation has not found frequent use in the laboratory. Here we report on a simple strategy for the concerted generation of syngas from two accessible and crystalline main element compounds with just water as the primary activator for syngas release. By decoupling the syngas formation and consumption via a two-chamber reactor we demonstrate this low-pressure, low-temperature and near-stoichiometric hydroformylation operates efficiently on a diverse array of terminal olefins without the need for expensive equipment. Our approach provides unique opportunities to access aldehydes in a safe and reliable manner with further adaptation to the synthesis of a range of pharmaceuticals and relevant molecules thereof. This strategy is adaptable to carbon isotope labelling as demonstrated by the use of a ¹³CO releasing molecule. We anticipate this hydroformylation approach will provide a complementary toolbox for drug discovery and development.

在工业上，醛每年通过烯烃与合成气（CO / H ₂的加氢甲酰化）产生数百万吨规模混合物）。但是，这种转换尚未在实验室中频繁使用。在这里，我们报告了一种简单的策略，可以由两种可访问的晶体主要元素化合物协同生成合成气，仅以水作为释放合成气的主要活化剂。通过两室反应器将合成气的形成和消耗分离，我们证明了这种低压，低温和近化学计量加氢甲酰化反应可在各种末端烯烃上高效运行，而无需昂贵的设备。我们的方法提供了以安全可靠的方式接触醛的独特机会，并进一步适应了一系列药物及其相关分子的合成。这种策略适用于碳同位素标记，如使用¹³ CO释放分子。我们预计这种加氢甲酰化方法将为药物发现和开发提供补充工具箱。