CYCLOPHOSPHAZENIC POLYPODANDS FROM COMMERCIAL MIXTURES OF POLYETHYLENE-GLYCOL MONOALKYL ETHERS, BRIJ - A VALID AND CONVENIENT ALTERNATIVE TO THE MOST COMMON PHASE-TRANSFER CATALYSTS

The catalytic activity of cyclophospliazenic polypodand 3b, obtained as a crude mixture from the commercial Brij 30, was compared with that of the corresponding pure ligand in a number of solid-liquid (SL) and liquid-liquid (LL) phase-transfer reactions. The comparison was also extended to the commonly used catalysts 4-9 under the same conditions. The obtained results show that the crude mixture of 3b, due to its excellent cation-binding properties, has a catalytic efficiency higher than that exhibited by the other ligands. Furthermore its catalytic activity is comparable to that of the much more expensive 3b, in line with the very close complexation values found in both systems. For this reason the cheap and efficient crude mixture can be considered competitive with the most common phase-transfer catalysts, particularly under SL-PTC conditions.