An efficient preparation of ß-ketophosphine oxides from alkynylphosphine oxides with benzaldehyde oxime as a hydroxide source.

An effective and facile transition-metal-free method has been developed for the synthesis of ß-ketophosphine oxides from alkynylphosphine oxides with benzaldehyde oxime as a hydroxide surrogate. The current methodology provides simple access to various ß-ketophosphine oxides in moderate to excellent yields with a broad substrate scope.