Recent Advances in the Asymmetric Conjugate Addition Reactions of Phosphorus Nucleophiles to Electron-Deficient Alkenes

Chiral phosphines are very useful in the fields of asymmetric catalysis, pharmaceutical chemistry, and materials. These compounds have been used as ligands coordinated to transition metals or organocatalysts in various reactions to furnish optically active products with high efficiency. Asymmetric phosphorus-addition reaction can be utilized for the direct preparation of chiral phosphorus compounds. This review summarizes the recent progress in the field of enantioselective phosphorus-addition reactions. Several examples of transition metal- and organocatalyst-promoted asymmetric hydrophosphination reactions of electron-deficient alkenes have been introduced.