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We carried out a comprehensive study on the generality, scope, limitations, and mechanism of the palladium-catalyzed hydrophosphorylation of alkynes with P(O)-H compounds (i.e., H-phosphonates, H-phosphinates, secondary phosphine oxides, and hypophosphinic acid). For H-phosphonates, Pd/dppp was the best catalyst. Both aromatic and aliphatic alkynes, with a variety of functional groups, were applicable to produce the Markovnikov adducts in high yields with high regioselectivity. Aromatic alkynes showed higher reactivity than aliphatic alkynes. Terminal alkynes reacted faster than internal alkynes. Sterically crowded H-phosphonates disfavored the addition. For H-phosphinates and secondary phosphine oxides, Pd/dppe/Ph2P(O)OH was the catalyst of choice, which led to highly regioselective formation of the Markovnikov adducts. By using Pd(PPh3)4 as the catalyst, hypophosphinic acid added to terminal alkynes to give the corresponding Markovnikov adducts. Phosphinic acids, phosphonic acid, and its monoester were not applicable to this palladium-catalyzed hydrophosphorylation. Mechanistic studies showed that, with a terminal alkyne, (RO)2P(O)H reacted, like a Bronsted acid, to selectively generate the α-alkenylpalladium intermediate via hydropalladation. On the other hand, Ph(RO)P(O)H and Ph2P(O)H gave a mixture of α- and β-alkenylpalladium complexes. In the presence of Ph2P(O)OH, hydropalladation with this acid took place first to selectively generate the α-alkenylpalladium intermediate. A subsequent ligand exchange with a P(O)H compound gave the phosphorylpalladium intermediate which produced the Markovnikov adduct via reductive elimination. Related intermediates in the catalytic cycle were isolated and characterized.

A Pd-catalyzed dehydrogenative phosphorylation of thiols is developed. A variety of thiols dehydrogenatively couple readily with all three kinds of P(O)–H compounds, i.e., H-phosphonates, H-phosphinates, and secondary phosphine oxides, providing a general access to the valuable phosphorothioates including the P-chiral compounds. A plausible mechanism is proposed.

A facile, highly stereo- and regioselective hydrometalation of alkynes generating alkenylmetal complex is disclosed for the first time from a reaction of alkyne, carboxylic acid, and a zerovalent group 10 transition metal complex M(PEt(3))(4) (M = Ni, Pd, Pt). A mechanistic study showed that the hydrometalation does not proceed via the reaction of alkyne with a hydridometal generated by the protonation of a carboxylic acid with Pt(PEt(3))(4), but proceeds via a reaction of an alkyne coordinate metal complex with the acid. This finding clarifies the long proposed reaction mechanism that operates via the generation of an alkenylpalladium intermediate and subsequent transformation of this complex in a variety of reactions catalyzed by a combination of Brϕnsted acid and Pd(0) complex. This finding also leads to the disclosure of an unprecedented reduction of alkynes with formic acid that can selectively produce cis-, trans-alkenes and alkanes by slightly tuning the conditions.

The first Ni-catalyzed C-O/P-H cross-coupling producing organophosphorus compounds is disclosed. This method features wide generality in regard to both C-O and P-H compounds: for C-O compounds, the readily available alcohol derivatives of aryl, alkenyl, benzyl, and allyl are applicable, and for P-H compounds, bothP(V)(O)H compounds (secondary phosphine oxide, H-phosphinate, and H-phosphonate) and hydrogen phosphines (P(III)H) can be used as the substrates. Thus, a variety of valuable C(sp(2))-P and C(sp(3))-P compounds can be readily obtained in good to excellent yields by this new strategy.