50 ml was introduced into a second addition funnel dry nitrogen was passed through the flask which was cooled to 0 u00b0 5 u00b0 c with an ice bath the n butyl lithium was added dropwise during 25 minutes while keeping the reaction temperature between 0 u00b0 5 u00b0 c an exotherm was observed and the contents became reddish brown in color after stirring for 30 minutes the chlorodiphenylphosphine was slowly added for 1 hour the reaction temperature was maintained at about 5 u00b0 c by controlling the rate of addition at the end of the chlorodiphenylphosphine addition the contents acquired a brown color stirring continued for 2 hours thereafter whereupon the reaction mixture was hydrolyzed with 6n hcl 200 ml and the diethyl ether layer was phase separated and dried over molecular sieves overnight the diethyl ether was evaporated under vacuum to yield the crude phosphine product which was purified by washing with pentane followed by sublimation at 80 u00b0 c the final yield of recrystalized o trifluoromethylphenyldiphenylphosphine was 22 grams mp 86 u00b0 c the following examples illustrate the o trifluoromethylphenyl diphenylphosphine palladium chloride embodiment of the present invention a 300 ml hastelloy c autoclave equipped with a magnadrive was charged with 1 5 gms of bis o trifluoromethylphenyldiphenylphosphine palladium dichloride 8 ml water and 50 ml of p dioxane the system was flushed thoroughly with nitrogen pressurized with carbon monoxide to 800 psig and heated to 120 u00b0 c with stirring 10 gms of liquid propylene was added and the reaction continued for 18 hours while maintaining the pressure and temperature at 1000 psig and 120 u00b0 c respectively after reaction the autoclave was cooled and the products analyzed by gas chromatography propylene conversion was 46 with an isobutyric acid to n butyric acid.