Design of Photoactive Covalent Organic Frameworks as Heterogeneous Catalyst for Preparation of Thiophosphinates from Phosphine Oxides and Thiols

Two new covalent organic frameworks (COFs) were synthesized from 4,4',4'',4'''-(pyrene-1,3,6,8-tetrayl)tetraaniline and 2,5-dimethoxyterephthalaldehyde (Py-DMTA-COF) or 2',5'-dimethoxy-[1,1':4',1''-terphenyl]-4,4''-dicarbaldehyde (Py-DMTPDA-COF) under solvothermal conditions. These two COFs were further facilely developed as efficient photocatalytic platforms for the synthesis of thiophosphinates. Py-DMTA-COF exhibited better photocatalytic activity, broad substrate applicability, and excellent recycling capacity for the preparation of thiophosphinates from P(O)H compounds and thiols compared to Py-DMTPDA-COF. This methodology was further extended to the seamless gram-scale production of target phosphorothioate derivatives. The results demonstrate that COFs can provide a robust platform for developing metal-free, base-free, highly efficient, and reusable heterogeneous photocatalysts for organic transformations.