Preparation and ring-opening reactions of N,O-bis(diphenylphosphinyl) hydroxymethylaziridine (‘Di-Dpp’)

N,O-bis(diphenylphosphinyl)-2-(hydroxymethyl)aziridine (‘DiDpp’, ) is efficiently prepared from 2-aminoethane-1,3-diol: this activated aziridine undergoes two sequential reactions with copper(I)-modified Grignard reagents, yielding α-branched N-Dpp amines in good yield.