Research News, Nov 6th, 2023

Direct Synthesis of Phosphoryltriacetates from White Phosphorus via Visible Light Catalysis

Yu Chen, Wei Liu, Xinlei Huangfu, Junnian Wei, Jiangxi Yu*, and Wen-Xiong Zhang*

Chem. Eur. J. 2023, 29, e202302289. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.202302289

  

  

  

  Organophosphorus compounds (OPCs) are widely used in many fields. However, traditional synthetic routes in the industry usually involve multistep and hazardous procedures. Therefore, it’s of great significance to construct such compounds in an environmentally-friendly and facile way. Herein, a photoredox catalytic method has been developed to construct novel phosphoryltriacetates. Using fac-Ir(ppy)3 (ppy = 2-phenylpyridine) as the photocatalyst and blue LEDs (456 nm) as the light source, white phosphorus can react with α-bromo esters smoothly to generate phosphoryltriacetates in moderate to good yields. This one-step approach features mild reaction conditions and simple operational process without chlorination.