The efficient synthesis of chiral or achiral tertiary phosphines bearing an o-bromo (or iodo)aryl substituent is described. The key step of this synthesis is based on the reaction of a secondary phosphine borane with the 1,2-dibromo (or diiodo)arene, owing to the formation in situ of an aryne species in the presence of n-butyllithium. When P-chirogenic secondary phosphine boranes were used, the corresponding o-halogeno-arylphosphine boranes were obtained without racemization in moderate to good yields and with ee up to 99%. The stereochemistry of the reaction, with complete retention of the configuration at the P atom, has been established by X-ray structures of P-chirogenic o-halogenophenyl phosphine borane complexes. The decomplexation of the borane was easily achieved without racemization using DABCO to obtain the free o-halogeno-arylphosphines in high yields.

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An original series of P-chirogenic aminophosphane-phosphinite (AMPP) ligands has been synthesized from (+)-or (-)-ephedrine in 23 to 61 % overall yields by a versatile threestep methodology. The AMPP ligands, bearing either one or two P-chirogenic centers, were used in the form of rhodium complexes for the catalyzed hydrogenation of α-acetamidocinnamate as a test reaction. Notably, even with AMPP ligands all derived from (+)-ephedrine, variation of the substituent on a P-center allowed the phenylalanine derivatives to be obtained in either (S) or (R) absolute configurations, with ee values ranging from 99 % (S) to 88% (R). The asymmetric induction was analyzed with the aid of X-ray structures of AMPP complexes, and a new model for the enantioselectivity, taking into consideration the boat conformation and the steric and electronic dissymmetries at the dihydride

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