| abstract |
A process for the carbonylation of acetylenically unsaturated compounds with carbon monoxide in the presence of a nucleophilic compound having one or more mobile hydrogen atoms as co-reactant, and of a catalyst system based on (a) a source of palladium cations; (b) a bidentate diphosphine of the general formula: R?1R2P-R-PR3R4¿ wherein each of R?1, R2, R3 and R4¿ independently represents a substituted or non-substituted aliphatic or cycloaliphatic group, or R1 together with R2, and/or R3 together with R4 represent a substituted or non-substituted bivalent cyclic group with at least 5 ring atoms whereby the two free valencies of such a cyclic group are linked to a single phosphorus atom, and R represents a bivalent organic bridging group containing from 1 to 4 atoms in the bridge, and (c) a source of non- or weakly coordinating anions derivable from strong acids having a pKa not greater than 4, or a source of anions derivable from sterically hindered carboxylic acids. |