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The general structure of a phosphite ester showing the lone pairs on the P In
organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J ...
, a phosphite ester or organophosphite usually refers to an
organophosphorous In organic chemistry, organophosphates (also known as phosphate esters, or OPEs) are a class of organophosphorus compounds with the general structure , a central phosphate molecule with alkyl or aromatic substituents. They can be considered a ...
compound with the formula P(OR)3. They can be considered as
ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides ...
s of an unobserved tautomer phosphorous acid, H3PO3, with the simplest example being trimethylphosphite, P(OCH3)3. Some phosphites can be considered esters of the dominant tautomer of phosphorous acid (HP(O)(OH)2). The simplest representative is dimethylphosphite with the formula HP(O)(OCH3)2. Both classes of phosphites are usually colorless liquids.


Synthesis

;From PCl3 Phosphite esters are typically prepared by treating
phosphorus trichloride Phosphorus trichloride is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula PCl3. A colorless liquid when pure, it is an important industrial chemical, being used for the manufacture of phosphites and other organophosphorus compounds. It is toxic ...
with an
alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...
. Depending on the synthetic details, this alcoholysis can give the diorganophosphites: :PCl3 + 3 C2H5OH → (C2H5O)2P(O)H + 2 HCl + C2H5Cl Alternatively, when the alcoholysis is conducted in the presence of proton acceptors, one obtains the C3-symmetric trialkoxy derivatives: :PCl3 + 3 C2H5OH + 3 R3N → (C2H5O)3P + 3 R3NHCl Numerous derivatives have been prepared for both types of phosphites. ;By transesterification Phosphite esters can also be prepared by
transesterification In organic chemistry, transesterification is the process of exchanging the organic group R″ of an ester with the organic group R' of an alcohol. These reactions are often catalyzed by the addition of an acid or base catalyst. The reaction ca ...
, as they undergo alcohol exchange upon heating with other alcohols. This process is reversible and can be used to produce mixed alkyl phosphites. Alternatively, if the phosphite of a volatile alcohol is used, such as trimethyl phosphite, then the by product (
methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is ...
) can be removed by distillation, allowing the reaction to be driven to completion.


Reactions and applications of tris(organo)phosphites


Reactions

: Phosphites are oxidized to phosphate esters: :P(OR)3 + → OP(OR)3 This reaction underpins the commercial use of some phosphite esters as
stabilizers Stabilizer, stabiliser, stabilisation or stabilization may refer to: Chemistry and food processing * Stabilizer (chemistry), a substance added to prevent unwanted change in state of another substance ** Polymer stabilizers are stabilizers used ...
in polymers. Alkyl phosphite esters are used in the Perkow reaction for the formation of vinyl phosphonates, and in the Michaelis–Arbuzov reaction to form phosphonates. Aryl phosphite esters may not undergo these reactions and hence are commonly used as stabilizers in halogen-bearing polymers such as PVC. Phosphite esters may be used as
reducing agent In chemistry, a reducing agent (also known as a reductant, reducer, or electron donor) is a chemical species that "donates" an electron to an (called the , , , or ). Examples of substances that are commonly reducing agents include the Earth met ...
s in more specialised cases. For example, triethylphosphite is known to reduce certain
hydroperoxide Hydroperoxides or peroxols are compounds containing the hydroperoxide functional group (ROOH). If the R is organic, the compounds are called organic hydroperoxides. Such compounds are a subset of organic peroxides, which have the formula ROOR. ...
s to alcohols formed by
autoxidation Autoxidation (sometimes auto-oxidation) refers to oxidations brought about by reactions with oxygen at normal temperatures, without the intervention of flame or electric spark. The term is usually used to describe the gradual degradation of organic ...
(''scheme''). In this process the phosphite is converted to a
phosphate ester In organic chemistry, organophosphates (also known as phosphate esters, or OPEs) are a class of organophosphorus compounds with the general structure , a central phosphate molecule with alkyl or aromatic substituents. They can be considered ...
. This reaction type is also utilized in the Wender Taxol total synthesis.


Homogeneous catalysis

Phosphite esters are
Lewis base A Lewis acid (named for the American physical chemist Gilbert N. Lewis) is a chemical species that contains an empty orbital which is capable of accepting an electron pair from a Lewis base to form a Lewis adduct. A Lewis base, then, is any sp ...
s and hence can form
coordination complexes A coordination complex consists of a central atom or ion, which is usually metallic and is called the ''coordination centre'', and a surrounding array of bound molecules or ions, that are in turn known as ''ligands'' or complexing agents. Many ...
with various metal ions. Representative phosphite ligands include trimethylphosphite ((MeO)3P), triethylphosphite ((EtO)3P), trimethylolpropane phosphite, and triphenylphosphite ((PhO)3P). Phosphites exhibit a smaller
ligand cone angle In coordination chemistry, the ligand cone angle (a common example being the Tolman cone angle or ''θ'') is a measure of the steric bulk of a ligand in a transition metal coordination complex. It is defined as the solid angle formed with the met ...
s than the structurally related phosphine ligand family. Phosphite ligands are components of industrial catalysts for
hydroformylation Hydroformylation, also known as oxo synthesis or oxo process, is an industrial process for the production of aldehydes from alkenes. This chemical reaction entails the net addition of a formyl group (CHO) and a hydrogen atom to a carbon-carbon ...
and hydrocyanation.


Chemistry of HP(O)(OR)2

: Diorganophosphites are derivatives of phosphorus(III) and can be viewed as the di-esters of phosphorous acid. They exhibit
tautomerism Tautomers () are structural isomers (constitutional isomers) of chemical compounds that readily interconvert. The chemical reaction interconverting the two is called tautomerization. This conversion commonly results from the relocation of a hydr ...
, however the equilibrium overwhelmingly favours the right-hand (phosphonate-like) form: :(RO)2POH ⇌ (RO)2P(O)H The P-H bond is the site of high reactivity in these compounds (for example in the Atherton–Todd reaction), whereas in tri-organophosphites the lone pair on phosphorus is the site of high reactivity. Diorganophosphites do however undergo transesterification.


See also

* Phosphinite P(OR)R2 * Phosphonite P(OR)2R * Ortho ester CH(OR)3 * Borate ester B(OR)3


References

{{Organophosphorus Functional groups Esters Phosphorus(III) compounds