A comparative study of amino phenoxide zirconium catalysts in the hydrophosphination of alkenes with diphenylphosphine reveals enhanced activity upon irradiation during catalysis, with conversions up to 10-fold greater than reactions in ambient light. The origin of improved reactivity is hypothesized to result from substrate insertion upon an n→d charge transfer of a Zr–P bond in the excited state of putative phosphido (Zr–PR2) intermediates. TD-DFT analysis reveals the lowest lying excited state in the proposed active catalysts are dominated by a P 3p→Zr 4d MLCT, presumably leading to enhanced catalysis. This hypothesis follows from triamidoamine-supported zirconium catalysts but demonstrates the generality of photocatalytic hydrophosphination with d0 metals.
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