investigated under basic and acidicmedia. It was demonstrated that the real phosphorylating agent involved in the reaction was phosphane (PH3) in basicmedia, and hypophosphorous acid (H3PO2) in acidicmedia. A convenient one-pot synthesis of (α-hydroxyalkyl)phosphinic acids from red phosphorus and aldehydes in basicmedia was realized under sonication. The same reaction under acidicmedia in the presence