Patent ID: 7705171

Claim:
A process for preparing nickel(0)-phosphorus ligand complexes which comprise at least one nickel(0) central atom and at least one phosphorus ligand comprising (1) reacting a nickel(II) compound with a reducing agent in the presence of said at least one phosphorus ligand to give a reaction mixture, wherein a) the molar ratio of said reducing agent to said nickel(II) compound ratio in said reaction mixture is in the range of from 1:1 to 1000:1, calculated as the molar ratio of the redox equivalents, b) the molar ratio of said at least one phosphorus ligand to said nickel(II) compound in said reaction mixture is less than or equal to 30:1, calculated as the molar P atoms:Ni atoms ratio, and c) the nickel(0) content in said reaction mixture is less than or equal to 1.3% by weight; and (2) extracting the resulting reaction mixture by adding at least one dinitrile and at least one hydrocarbon to form at least two immiscible phases.