Patent ID: 7148176

Claim:
A catalyst comprising: (a) a phosphine ligand of formula Ia: (adamantyl) n P(alkyl) m Ia in which adamantyl is an adamantyl radical (IIa or IIb) bonded to the phosphorus atom in the 1- or 2- position: alkyl is a C 3 to C 18 alkyl group, and wherein said alkyl group, and said adaxnantyl radical independently of one another can have, in addition to hydrogen atoms, up to 10 substituents which, independently of one another, are selected from the group consisting of: C 1 to C 8 alkyl, O-alkyl(C 1 –C 8 ), OH, OCO-alkyl(C 1 –C 8 ), O-phenyl, phenyl, alyl, fluorine, NO 2 , Si-(alkyl(C 1 –C 8 )) 3 , CN, COOH, CHO, SO 3 H, NH 2 , NH-alkyl (C 1 –C 8 ), (alkyl(C 1 –C 8 ) 2 , P(alkyl(C 1 –C 8 )) 2 , P(aryl) 2 , SO 2 alkyl(C 1 –C 6 ), SO-alkyl(C 1 –C 6 ), CF 3 , NHCO-alkyl(C 1 –C 4 ), COO-alkyl(C 1 –C 8 ), CONH 2 , CO-alkyl(C 1 –C 8 ), NHCHO, NHCOO-alkyl(C 1 –C 4 , CO-phenyl, COO-phenyl, CH═CH—CO 2 -alkyl(C 1 –C 8 ), CH═CHCOOH, PO(phenyl) 2 , PO(alkyl(C 1 –C 4 )) 2 , PO 3 H 2 , PO(O-alkyl(C 1 –C 6 )) 2 or SO 3 (alkyl(C 1 –C 4 )), wherein said aryl is an aromatic with 5 to 14 ring carbon atoms, and wherein one or more of said ring carbon atoms may be replaced by nitrogen, oxygen and/or sulfur atoms to give a heteroaromatic with 1 to 13 ring carbon atoms, where n is a number between 1 and 3; m is a number between 0 and 2; and wherein n+m=3; and (b) a transition metal of subgroup VIII of the Periodic Table of the Elements, wherein said metal may optionally be in the form of a salt or in a complex with said phosphine ligand.