An improved method for Lewis acid catalyzed phosphoryl transfer with Ti(t-BuO)4

Several inorganic esters have been evaluated as phosphoryl transfer catalysts. Of these, Ti(t-BuO)(4) was found to be the most effective catalyst giving excellent yields of the desired phosphate esters. The loading of the catalyst could be reduced to a little as 5 mol % for a majority of substrates with no loss in the yield of product. This methodology is significantly more versatile than using TiCl(4) and is suitable for the phosphorylation of more complex carbohydrates and molecules of biological interest.