Hydrothermal Synthesis of Chiral Metal(II) Phosphinates Derived from Camphor

The diastereoselective synthesis of bis(3-endo-camphoryl)phosphinic acid (1) and its 2-bornen-2-yl ester 2 from the reaction of lithium camphor enolate with phosphorus trichloride and the hydrothermal synthesis of three chiral molecular metal(II) phosphinates of the type M(O2PR2)2·2R2P(O)OH [M = Co (3); Ni (4); Pb (5); R = 3-endo-camphoryl] from the reaction of 1 with metal(II) acetates or nitrates is described. The molecular structures of 1–5 are reported.