Asymmetric addition of P-H compounds to unsaturated carbonyl derivatives

Abstract

Michael addition of P-H compounds, such as phosphanes, phosphane oxides and phosphonates, is a practical tool to form P-C bonds. The stereochemistry of the newly formed compounds can be influenced either by using chiral starting materials or chiral catalysts. Since the former method is limited to the readily available opticallyactive derivatives, catalytic options are more common. Enantioenriched P-C compounds can have biological activity; therefore, they are pharmaceutically valuable molecules. In this paper, an overview is provided on the conjugate addition of P-H compounds according to the type of the phosphorus derivatives.