Ph3P-mediated highly selective C(α)–P coupling of quinone monoacetals with R2P(O)H: convenient and practical synthesis of ortho-phosphinyl phenols

Abstract

A highly selective Ph₃P-mediated C(α)–P coupling reaction of quinone monoacetals with secondary phosphine oxides is developed to provide an effective method for the synthesis of a wide array of ortho-phosphinylphenols in good to excellent yields. This protocol can be adopted for scale-up synthesis directly from cheap and abundant phenols, and the products can be easily obtained in high yields by simple filtration without the use of organic extraction or chromatography.