Large scale application of triphenylphosphine oxide thin films for a modified catalytic Appel reaction

Here we report on a large-scale fabrication and application of triphenylphosphine oxide (Ph3PO) thin films for catalytic nucleophilic substitution of alcohols under modified Appel conditions. We found a relationship between the fabrication conditions and the optical and catalytic properties of the resulting films. An increase in the fabrication temperature along with a decrease in the film thickness makes it possible to obtain both an optically high-quality surface and the most efficient structure for catalysis allowing to achieve 93% yield. The key features of the fabrication method proposed are an operationally simplicity, low catalyst loading up to 10 mol%, medium reaction times, mild conditions, and large-scale application.