Straightforward regio- and stereo-selective synthesis of t-2-[(diphenylphosphinoyl)methyl]-c-3-(disubstitutedphosphinoyl)-r-1-cyclopentanols

A 3-step, regio- and stereo-selective, high-yielding synthesis of t-2-[(diphenylphosphinoyl)methyl]-c-3-(disubstitutedphosphinoyl)-r-1-cyclopentanols (8a-d) is described. Reaction of epoxides 2a-d and/or 5a-d with the lithium derivative of methyldiphenylphosphine oxide (9) gave cyclopentanols 8a-d. Base-catalyzed rearrangement of epoxides 2a-d and/or 5a-d led to 3-(disubstitutedphosphinoyl)cyclopent-2-en-1-ols (7a-d) which on reaction with the lithium derivative of 9 gave also 8a-d. The relative configurations of 2a and 8b-d were obtained by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.