Solid–liquid two‐phase alkylation of tetraethyl methylenebisphosphonate under microwave irradiation

Optimum conditions for the solid–liquid phase alkylation of tetraethyl methylenebisphosphonate are dependent on the nature of the alkyl halide. The benzylation with benzyl bromide takes place efficiently in boiling acetonitrile in the presence of potassium carbonate and a phase transfer catalyst. The ethylation with ethyl iodide was best accomplished under solventless microwave conditions in the presence of cesium carbonate and in the absence of an onium salt. The analogous propylation and butylation were complicated by the formation of mixed esters. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 22:11–, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/hc.20648