Highly regio- and stereoselective phosphinylphosphination of terminal alkynes with tetraphenyldiphosphine monoxide under radical conditions.

The homolytic cleavage of the PV(O)-PIII bond in tetraphenyldiphosphine monoxide simultaneously provides both pentavalent and trivalent phosphorus-centered radicals with different reactivities. The method using V-40 as an initiator is successfully investigated for the regio- and stereoselective phosphinylphosphination of terminal alkynes giving the corresponding trans-isomers of 1-diphenylphosphinyl-2-diphenylthiophosphinyl-1-alkenes in good yields. The protocol can be applied to a wide variety of terminal alkynes including both alkyl- and arylalkynes.

Palladium-Catalyzed Diarylation of Isocyanides with Tetraarylleads for the Selective Synthesis of Imines and α-Diimines.

Using tetraaryllead compounds (PbAr4) as arylating reagents, isocyanides undergo selective diarylation in the presence of palladium catalysts such as Pd(OAc)2 or Pd(PPh3)4 to afford imines and/or α-diimines based on the isocyanide employed. With aliphatic isocyanides, imines are obtained preferentially, whereas α-diimines are formed in the case of electron-rich aromatic isocyanides. The differences in imine/α-diimine selectivity can be attributed to the stability of imidoylpalladium intermediates formed in this catalytic reaction. Compared with other arylating reagents, tetraaryllead compounds are excellent candidates for use in the selective transformations to imines and/or α-diimines, especially in terms of inhibiting the oligomerization of isocyanides, which results in a lower product selectivity in many transition-metal-catalyzed reactions of isocyanides.