Triarylphosphines unsymmetrical

Triarylphosphines were prepared by the reaction between lithium diphenylphosphide in THF and m-and p-iodotoluene (or the corresponding bromo compounds), 4-bromobiphenyl and p-dibromobenzene in yields of 70-80% (isolated after oxidation, as the phosphine oxides).143 The absence of cine substitution products is a synthetic advantage and would have been taken as a prima facie indication that the displacements are examples of the 5rn1 reaction, had the mechanism been recognized at the time. Operation of the radical ion mechanism in DMSO, or liquid ammonia, in which marginally improved yields are obtained, was confirmed by Swartz and Bunnett,48 but no extension to the scope of the reaction was made. Rossi and coworkers have developed a procedure for one-pot preparation of triarylphosphines starting from elemental phosphorus (Scheme 6).146 As an example of the synthesis of a symmetrical tri-arylphosphine, triphenylphosphine (isolated as its oxide) was obtained in 75% yield, with iodobenzene as the aryl halide (ArX in Scheme 6, steps i-iii only). Unsymmetrical phosphines result from the full sequence of reactions in Scheme 6, and p-anisyldiphenylphosphine (isolated as its oxide) was produced in 55% yield, based on the phosphorus used, when chlorobenzene (ArX) and p-methoxyanisole (AiOC) were used. 

Unsymmetrical triarylphosphines are conveniently prepared by use of a slight excess of the aryl Grignard reagent in ether or tetrahydrofuran (5,28,30,43,58,72,98,116,140,152). For example, diphenyl-p-methoxy-phenylphosphine oxide was obtained (75%) by this method (152). 

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