One Step Selective Counterion Dependent Formation of Conjugated Chiral N-Sulfinylimines from Aldehydes

We report a detailed study on the synthesis and aldehyde vinylogation applications of chiral N-sulfinyl imine phosphonate reagents. Two complementary scalable reagent routes, from trialkyl phosphites and methyl phosphonates, respectively, are presented. This reagent class enables significant streamlining in synthesis of conjugated Ellman imines from aldehydes, which can now be accomplished in a single step compared to a more classic 4-step redox-based approach. Aldehyde vinylogation optimizations have revealed significant counterion effects and unexpected competing reaction challenges that needed to be addressed to achieve high yields.