Ultrasound-promoted greener approach to synthesize α-hydroxy phosphonates catalyzed by potassium dihydrogen phosphate under solvent-free condition

We report a new environmentally-benign, convenient, and facile methodology for the synthesis of alpha-hydroxyphosphonates from an aromatic/heteroaromatic aldehyde with triethyl phosphite in the presence of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4) under ultrasound-assisted solvent-free conditions. Furthermore, a series of compounds were synthesized and characterized by melting point, El-MS, NMR, and IR tools. Utilization of easy reaction conditions, isolation, and purification makes this manipulation very interesting from an economic perspective. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.