Acetylene Phosphonates as Dienophiles: A Route to Carbocyclic and Aromatic Phosphonates and Diphos-Phonates

Abstract

Systematic research of unsaturated phosphonates, started at the end of the sixties, gave rise to a variety of acetylene phosphonic derivatives. The authors worked out two significant routes to these compounds, (1) action of PCl₅ upon some alkynes followed by HCl elimination which gives alkyne dichlorophosphonates. and (2) Arbuzov reaction of P_III esters with halo- and dihaloalkynes which gives different phosphono- and diphosphonoacetylenes. The phosphonic groups are electron-withdrawing, and acetylenephosphon-ates are typical dienophiles in Diels-Alder cycloaddition of diene-donor/dienophile-acceptor type. Phosphonic esters are less active than corresponding dichlorophosphonates, but diphosphonic esters expose high reactivity. Haloethyne- and dialkylaminoethynephosphonates are sufficiently active in the reaction with simple dienes (butadiene, iso-prene, 2,3-dimethylbutadiene and piperylene), but we were not able to introduce alkyl- or arylacetylene phosphonic esters in the cycloaddition.