First Synthesis of a Highly Basic Dendrimer and its Catalytic Application in Organic Methodology

Sixteen OCH 2 CH 2 N 3 P( i ‐BuNCH 2 CH 2 ) 3 N substituents (A) containing the highly basic bicyclic azido‐phosphine moiety shown, have been incorporated into the dendrimer [CH 2 CH 2 N[(CH 2 ) 3 N[(CH 2 ) 3 NHC(O)‐3,5‐bis‐(A)‐C 6 H 3 ] 2 ] 2 ] 2 in five steps from commercially available starting materials with an overall yield of 22.5%. Also presented are examples of Michael additions, nitroaldol reactions and aryl isocyanate trimerizations that are efficiently catalyzed by the dendrimer.