Telomerization process using sulfonated triarylphosphine and transition metal

A process for telomerizing dienes which comprises the step of reacting a diene with a telomerizing compound containing at least one mobile hydrogen atom, said telomerizing compound being water, in the presence of a water-soluble catalytic system comprising at least one water-soluble phosphine having the following formula (I):

• ##STR10## wherein Ar.sub.1, Ar.sub.2 and Ar.sub.3 each represent an aryl group having from 6 to 10 carbon atoms, which may be alike or different from each other;
• Y.sub.1, Y.sub.2 and Y.sub.3, which may be alike or different from each other each represent an alkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, a halogen, cyano-, nitro-, or hydroxy radical or an ##STR11## wherein R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, which may be alike or different from each other each represent an alkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms;
• M represents a cation which is able to form water-soluble compounds of formula (I) selected from the group consisting of a proton, a cation derived from an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal, ammonium, a group N(R.sub.3 R.sub.4 R.sub.5 R.sub.6)+, wherein R.sub.3, R.sub.4, R.sub.5 and R.sub.6 each represent hydrogen or an alkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms and may be alike or different from each other, and a cation of any other metal, which is able to form water-soluble salts with benzosulfonic acids;
• m.sub.1, m.sub.2 and m.sub.3 each represent a whole number from 0 to 5 which may be the same or different from each other and n.sub.1, n.sub.2 and n.sub.3 each represent a whole number from 0 to 3, which may be the same or different from each other, whereby at least one of these numbers n.sub.1, n.sub.2 and n.sub.3 equals at least one and further comprising a compound selected from the group consisting of a transition metal or a transition metal-containing compound.