A concise method for synthesis of diaryl aryl- or alkylphosphonates

A convenient method has been developed to synthesize diaryl arylphosphonates from triaryl phosphites, triethyl phosphite, and aromatic halides. The new method relies on the triethyl phosphite assisted nickel catalyzed Arbuzov reaction and can be applied to synthesize certain diaryl alkylphosphonates without catalysts.