Tandem Addition of Phosphite Nucleophiles Across Unsaturated Nitrogen-Containing Systems: Mechanistic Insights on Regioselectivity

J Org Chem. 2017 Jan 6;82(1):188-201. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.6b02340. Epub 2016 Dec 21.

Abstract

The addition of phosphite nucleophiles across linear unsaturated imines is a powerful and atom-economical methodology for the synthesis of aminophosphonates. These products are of interest from both a biological and a synthetic point of view: they act as amino acid transition state analogs and Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reagents, respectively. In this work the reaction between dialkyl trimethylsilyl phosphites and α,β,γ,δ-diunsaturated imines was evaluated as a continuation of our previous efforts in the field. As such, the first conjugate 1,6-addition of a phosphite nucleophile across a linear unsaturated N-containing system is reported herein. Theoretical calculations were performed to rationalize the observed regioselectivites and to shed light on the proposed mechanism.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't