A porous polymer has a pore volume of 0.3 to 2.5 cm.sup.3/g and comprises a pore having a first pore diameter and a pore having a second pore diameter. A ratio of pore volume of the pore having a first pore diameter to pore volume of the pore having a second pore diameter is 1 to 10:1. The porous polymer is obtained by self-polymerization or copolymerization of at least one of the phosphorus ligands, and phosphorous content of the porous polymer is 1 to 5 mmol/g. The porous polymer-nickel catalyst made of the porous polymer has a significant increase in water resistance, which may reduce the consumption of phosphorus ligands, eliminating the steps of removing water from raw materials and reaction system water control, which greatly saves process equipment investment. When used in the preparation of adiponitrile from butadiene, it has high catalytic activity, high reaction selectivity, and high linearity.

Disclosed are nickel-containing complexation precursors having high complexation activity for bidentate processed under various conditions phosphite ligands. Also disclosed are methods of making the complexation precursors. The disclosed method of generating the nickel-containing complexation precursor includes including contacting a nickel starting material with a reductant under conditions sufficient to generate a nickel-containing complexation precursor having at least about 1,500 ppmw sulfur in the form of sulfide.

The present invention refers to a process for a Rh-catalyzed Anti-Markovnikov hydrocyanation of terminal alkynes which process discloses, for the first time, the highly stereo- and regio-selective hydrocyanation of terminal alkynes to furnish E-configured alkenyl nitriles and the catalyst used in the present process.

The present invention refers to a process for a Rh-catalyzed Anti-Markovnikov hydrocyanation of terminal alkynes which process discloses, for the first time, the highly stereo- and regio-selective hydrocyanation of terminal alkynes to furnish E-configured alkenyl nitriles and the catalyst used in the present process.

Methods are described herein that involve rotating or gently mixing nickel(II)-containing particles in a reaction vessel while heating the particles and flowing a reducing atmosphere through the reaction vessel for a time sufficient to generate free-flowing nickel metal (Ni(0)) from the nickel(II)-containing particles.

Disclosed are nickel-containing complexation precursors having high complexation activity for bidentate phosphite ligands. Also disclosed are methods of making the complexation precursors. The disclosed method of generating the nickel-containing complexation precursor includes including contacting a nickel starting material with a reductant under conditions sufficient to generate a nickel-containing complexation precursor having at least about 1,500 ppmw sulfur in the form of sulfide.

A process of hydrolyzing a monodentate, bidentate or tridentate phosphorus-based phosphite ester ligand or ligand blend for a transition metal catalyst comprising contacting the ligand or ligand blend with a hydrolysis catalyst of the formula (R.sub.11X.sub.11).sub.nP(OH).sub.3-n where n is 0, 1 or 2 wherein the ligand or ligand blend comprises one or more of (i) a bidentate biphosphite ligand of formula (III), (R.sup.12X.sup.12)(R.sup.13X.sup.13)PX.sup.14YX.sup.24P(X.sup.22R.sup.22)(X.sup.23R.sup.23), (ii) a tridentate triphosphite ligand of formula (IIIA) (R.sup.12X.sup.12)(R.sup.13X.sup.13)PX.sup.14YX.sup.32P(X.sup.34R.sup.34)(X.sup.33Y.sup.2K.sup.24P(X.sup.23R.sup.23)(X.sup.22R.sup.22) or (iii) a monodentate phosphite ligand of formula (IV) P(X.sup.1R.sup.1)(X.sup.2R.sup.2)(X.sup.3R.sup.3) where each X is oxygen or a bond and each Y is an optionally substituted C6-C20 arylene, followed by separation of the ligand hydrolysis products.

A multidentate phosphite ligand is used in the catalytic synthesis of adiponitrile. The ligand is represented by the following general formula (I). The method of catalytic synthesis of adiponitrile comprises primary hydrocyanation, isomerization, and secondary hydrocyanation reactions, wherein the catalyst adopted each comprises a phosphite ligand-nickel complex composed of a nickel precursor and a multidentate phosphite ligand. The ligand molecule has a higher electron cloud density, and the phosphorus content capable of participating in coordination in the ligand molecule per unit mass is higher, so that the catalytic activity of the catalyst is improved, and the amount of the catalyst is reduced.

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As described herein, nickel treated with sulfur provides a surprisingly effective source of nickel atoms for generating nickel-phosphorus-containing ligand complexes useful as hydrocyanation catalysts.

The invention provides methods useful in the industrial scale process for hydrocyanation of butadiene to adiponitrile for recycle of unwanted byproduct 2-methyl-3-butenenitrile (2M3BN) by conversion to process intermediate pentenenitrile. The invention provides a process for generating catalysts useful for carrying out the hydrocyanation of butadiene to adiponitrile, the process comprising contacting the 2M3BN and a solution of a nickel-ligand catalyst in cis-2-pentenenitrile (cis-2PN), trans-2-pentenenitrile (trans-2PN), or a mixture thereof. The improved methods of the invention can provide improved catalyst solubility for bidentate ligands without a requirement for a Lewis acid catalyst promoter such as zinc chloride to be present.