The effects of the presence of water on the rhodium-catalyzed carbonylation
of isopropylallylamine were studied as a function of the following paramet
ers: reaction temperature; water content; presence of phosphines; solvent p
olarity and presence of bulky ions. It turned out that the reaction is stro
ngly dependent on the temperature and that water seems to behave both as a
source of hydrogen and as a ligand in the active species. The phosphine lig
ands showed no effect since in the presence of water they were all converte
d to their corresponding oxides. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights
reserved.