cis,cis,cis-1,2,3,4-Tetrakis(diphenylphospinomethyl)cyclopentane/1/2[PdCl(C3H5)](2) system catalyses efficiently the Heck 2 reaction of heteroaryl halides with n-butyl acrylate, styrene, vinylpyridine and vinyl ether derivatives. High turnover numbers can be obtained for the reactions with halo pyridines, quinolines, furans or thiophenes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.