A Bench-Stable Catalyst for the Rapid Hydrophosphination of Activated and Unactivated Alkenes

Cu(acac)₂ (1) is a highly active catalyst for the hydrophosphination of alkenes. Photocatalytic conditions are critical, which provde high conversions with unactivated substrates that have never before been reported with an air-stable catalyst or at ambient temperature. The simplicity of compound 1 places hydrophosphination in the hands of more synthetic chemists.