Cyclic Alkyl Amino Iminate Phosphines: Electron-Rich Ligands with Conformational Potential for C–H···Metal Interactions

Cyclic alkyl amino iminate (CAAI) phosphines were synthesized in good yields via chlorophosphine/(CAAI)TMS exchange. These ligands adopt a conformation in which the methyl groups on the CAAI unit are oriented toward the metal center, enabling potential weak C–H···metal interactions, as characterized by experimental and computational methods. CAAI phosphines have been applied in Pd-catalyzed ketone arylation, showing promising reactivity with electron-rich substrates. These findings establish CAAI phosphines as a class of flexible ligand for transition-metal-catalyzed transformations.