ON THE NATURE OF THE NUCLEOPHILE IN THE MIXTURE OF PHOSPHITES AND AMINES

Abstract

It is now commonly accepted that in the presence of strong bases (like metal alcoholates) an equilibrium between phosphite and phosphonate forms of dialkyl phosphites exists and that the phosphite form is highly reactive in the reaction with carbonyl compounds. There is a controversy on the structure of the active form of the phosphite when the addition is catalyzed by amines. We have found that aliphatic amines and dialkyl phoshites form a complex which is a reactive species. Its stoichiometry depends on the nature of the solvent.

Key Words:

• Phosphite-phosphonate equilibrium
• amine-dialkylphosphite complex