Phosphine oxide nucleophilic catalysis

The reaction of phosphines and alkyl halides presents an alternative way to generate phosphonium electrophiles (Scheme 3.8). In particular, the combination of a phosphine and carbon tetrabromide (the Appel reaction) allows for in situ formation of a phosphonium dibromide salt (48, X = Br). Treatment of a hemiacetal donor 1 with the phosphonium halide 48 initially provides the oxophosphonium intermediate 38 (X = Br). However, the oxophosphonium intermediate 38 can react with bromide ion to form the anomeric bromide intermediate 49 (X = Br) with concomitant generation of phosphine oxide. With the aid of bromide ion catalysis (i.e. reversible, catalytic formation of the more reactive P-anomeric bromide 50) [98], the nucleophile displaces the anomeric bromide to form the desired glycoside product 3. The hydrobromic add by-product is typically buffered by the presence of tetramethyl urea (TMU). 

Simultaneous publication of the iminium ion catalysed hydrophosphination of a,p-unsaturated aldehydes by Melchiorre and Cordova showed diarylprolinol silyl ether 55 was effective in the conjugate addition of diphenylphosphine 74 [117, 118], Direct transformation of the products allowed for one-pot methods for the preparation of P-phosphine alcohols 75 (72-85% yield 90-98% ee), P-phosphine oxide acids 76 (65% yield 92% ee) and 3-amino phosphines 77 (71% yield 87% ee) (Scheme 34). These reports represent the first examples of the addition of P-centred nucleophiles and the resulting highly functionalised products may well have further use in asymmetric catalysis. 

Lewis base or nucleophilic catalysis by chiral amines, amine or phosphine iV-oxides, sulfides, and phosphines has been intensively exploited in asymmetric organocatalysis [122]. Representative catalysts are shown in Figure 2.27. 

The breaking of carbon-to-phosphorus bonds is by itself not a useful reaction in homogeneous catalysis. It is an undesirable side-reaction that occurs in systems containing transition metals and phosphine ligands and that leads to deactivation of the catalysts. Two reaction pathways can be distinguished, oxidative addition and nucleophilic attack at the co-ordinated phosphorus atom (Figure 2.35). 

Water is so extensively used in catalytic oxidation reactions that usually this fact is regarded as a natural feature and remains unnoticed. Wacker oxidation of olefins by palladium complexes involves water as a nucleophilic reagent, and thus the whole Wacker-type chemistry, which has developed into a powerful and versatile method of organic synthesis, is derived from aqueous catalysis [178]. The role of the nature of the co-oxidant and the mechanism of deactivation of the palladium catalyst due to aggregation and growth of inactive metal particles were recently investigated, and such study may have relevance for other processes catalyzed by phosphine-less palladium catalysts [179]. 

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