The formation of a phosphine oxide with its strong P=O bond is the driving force for the classical Wittig reaction, but is wasteful and can pose problems during purification. A new development allowing the use of catalytic phosphorus reagents promises to clean up olefination chemistry.
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Marsden, S. The Wittig reaction cleans up. Nature Chem 1, 685–687 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.458
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.458
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