An eco-friendly procedure for the efficient synthesis of dialkyl α-aminophosphonates in aqueous media

A new, convenient and high yielding procedure for the preparation of diethyl α-aminophosphonates in water by one-pot reaction of aldehydes, amines, tri/dialkyl phosphites in the presence of a low catalytic amount of [Cu(3,4-tmtppa)](MeSO4)4 (0.16 mol%) as a highly stable and re-usable catalyst is described.