A high-yielding and convenient procedure for the efficient conversion of α-hydroxyphosphonates to α-acetyloxyphosphonates using acetic anhydride in the presence of catalytic amounts of copper triflate is described.
A convenient and eco-friendly procedure is described for the efficient preparation of a variety of α-acetyloxyphosphonates from their corresponding α-hydroxyphosphonates using acetic anhydride under microwave irradiation in the absence of solvent.