Ligand-Free Iron-Catalyzed Construction of C–P Bonds via Phosphorylation of Alcohols: Synthesis of Phosphine Oxides and Phosphine Compounds

An efficient method for the construction of C–P(V) and C–P(III) bonds via the iron-catalyzed phosphorylation of alcohols under ligand-free conditions is disclosed. This strategy represents a straightforward process to prepare a series of phosphine oxides and phosphine compounds in good to excellent yields from the readily available alcohols and P–H compounds. A plausible mechanism is also proposed. We anticipate that this mode of transforming simple alcohols would apply in chemical synthesis widely.