Direct Phosphatation via Arylthianthrenium Salts
Abstract
O -Phosphorylation is a common way to make phosphates, but its reliance on the formation of an O–P bond restricts it to hydroxyl groups and lacks selectivity with other competing nucleophiles. Herein, we report a photoredox/copper-mediated method to construct phosphates via C–O bond formation. This approach uses arylthianthrenium salts to generate aryl radicals, which can be captured by high-valent copper species to form the challenging C–O bond with dialkyl phosphates. The reaction exhibits a broad substrate scope, enables late-stage functionalization of drug molecules, and operates orthogonally with conventional O -phosphorylation. This allows for the direct phosphatation of complex molecules bearing problematic functionality without resorting to complicated protection group schemes.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Organophosphorus compounds synthesis
Radical Photochemical Reactions
Catalytic C–H Functionalization Methods
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Organic Letters
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 3559–3564
- Publication date
- 9 March 2026
- Language
- EN