Tartaric Acid–Catalyzed Synthesis of α-Aminophosphonates Under Solvent-Free Conditions

Abstract

A facile procedure is developed for the synthesis of α-aminophosphonates, using tartaric acid as a stable, environmentally benign, low cost, and easily available organocatalyst. In the presence of tartaric acid (10 mol%), triethyl phosphite reacts with imines (generated in situ from an aldehyde and an amine) to yield the corresponding α-aminophosphonates. The organocatalyst tartaric acid is more stable during reaction. The catalyst provides easier workup, affords better yields, and takes less reaction time in comparison to generally used Lewis acid catalysts.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• α-Aminophosphonates
• organocatalyst
• tartaric acid
• triethyl phosphite

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors thank the Instrumentation Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India, for obtaining NMR and IR spectra.