title: Bridging the final gap in stereocontrolled wittig reactions: methoxymethoxy-armed allylic phosphorus ylides affording conjugated dienes with high cis selectivity
abstract: After treatment with an appropriate base (butyllithium or sodium amide), 2-alkenyltris(2-methoxymethoxyphenyl)phosphonium salts carrying an allyl, crotyl, or prenyl (3-methyl-2-butenyl) side chain condense with saturated or unsaturated aldehydes to give conjugated dienes with Z/E ratios ranging from 90:10 to > 99:1 and averaging 96:4. Owing to steric congestion, yields are only moderate (on average 41%; extremes 10-79%). The nonvolatile tris(2-methoxymethoxyphenyl)phosphine oxide by-product can be readily isolated and reduced to recover the phosphane starting material, or it may be hydrolyzed to the water-soluble tris(2-hydroxyphenyl)phosphine oxide.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Chimie organique de l'Universite, Batiment de chimie (BCh), Lausanne-Dorigny, Switzerland.
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.lastname: El Khoury M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schlosser