Preparation of Phosphonoterephthalic Acids via Palladium-Catalyzed Coupling of Aromatic Iodoesters

Abstract The current article reports in detail the preparation of two phosphonoterephthalic acids: 2-phosphonoterephthalic acid (1) and 2,5-diphosphonoterephthalic acid (2). Efficient, scalable syntheses have been developed for both compounds based on Pd-catalyzed coupling reactions of iodinated terephthalate esters. Phosphonoterephthalic acids are potentially useful as flame-retardant additives or as monomers for the construction of acid-pendant polymer chains. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Synthetic Communications® to view the free supplemental file.