Fast and easy synthesis of the non-commercially available standard isobutyl monophosphate (ammonium salt)

In an attempt to establish a biosynthetic route towards isobutene, we faced the problem that the first intermediate isobutyl-monophosphate was not commercially available. In order to overcome this limitation we searched in the literature for protocols reporting the synthesis of phosphate monoesters from alcohols. Based on the suitability of the preceding developments for our purposes, we established a customized method for the fast, easy and affordable generation of the pursued molecule. Herein, a prompt and straightforward method for isobutyl-monophosphate (ammonium salt) is provided.•This is a customized method for the production of isobutyl-monophosphate (ammonium salt), using isobutanol as starting compound•Synthesis takes place in a one-pot fashion, under mild reaction conditions, in 2 h•The established sequential strategy requires 8 h at the most, including synthesis and purification steps to obtain the isolated product.