Straightforward regio- and stereo-selective synthesis of t-2-[(diphenylphosphinoyl)methyl]-c-3-(disubstitutedphosphinoyl)-r-1-cyclopentanols

A 3-step, regio- and stereo-selective, high-yielding synthesis of t-2-[(diphenylphosphinoyl)methyl]-c-3-(disubstitutedphosphinoyl)-r-1-cyclopentanols () is described. Reaction of epoxides and/or with the lithium derivative of methyldiphenylphosphine oxide () gave cyclopentanols . Base-catalyzed rearrangement of epoxides and/or led to 3-(disubstitutedphosphinoyl)cyclopent-2-en-1-ols () which on reaction with the lithium derivative of gave also . The relative configurations of and were obtained by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.