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Hydroxycarbonylation of benzyl and substituted benzyl chloride and bromide derivatives was achieved in good yields (up to 97.6%) and quantitative chemoselectivity, in the presence of Co2(CO)8 as the transition metal and polyethylene glycols as the phase-transfer catalyst in an organic solvent/20% aqueous NaOH two-phase system under mild conditions (1 bar CO, room temperature). η1-Benzyl-, η3-benzyl-, and (η1-phenylacetyl)cobalt carbonyls were investigated as intermediates of this catalytic process.

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Chloroacetyl)cobalt tetracarbonyl, C1CH2C(0)Co(C0)4 (1), was prepared by the reaction of C1CH2C(0)C1 with Na[Co(CO)4]. 1 readily decarbonylates to (chloromethyl)cobalt tetracarbonyl (2). 1 is formed from 2 at ~5 bar of CO pressure and room temperature or at 1 bar of CO by cooling to -10 °C in a reversible reaction. 2 gives with PPh3 the CO-substituted acyl derivative ClCH2C(0)Co(CO)3PPh3 (3) that can be decarbonylated at 50 °C to the corresponding alkyl complex ClCH2Co(CO)3PPh3 (4). 4 takes up CO even under 1 bar of pressure at room temperature. The 3^4 equilibrium is reversible. 1 was characterized by IR spectra, 2-4 could be isolated, and the structures of 3 and 4 were determined by X-ray diffraction.

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