To a solution of 1.62 g of diisopropylamine in 20 ml of dry tetrahydrofuranat -78° C. under an atmosphere of nitrogen are added 10.0 ml of a 1.6M solution of n-butyllithium in hexane. This solution is then stirred for a period of 10 minutes at this temperature, after which time a solution of 2.0 g of isobutyl, P,P-dimethyl-phosphinate is added. This mixture is stirred at -78° C. for a period of 1 hour, after which time a solution of 2.45 g of tran-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-nitro-ethene in 20 ml of tetrahydrofuran is added. This mixture is then allowed to warm to room temperature when 40 ml of a saturated ammonium chloride solution is added. The aqueous layer is then extracted with 2×25 ml of diethyl ether and the organic extracts are combined and dried over magnesium sulphate. The solvent is then evaporated under reduced pressure and the crude product purified by chromatography on silica gel using 5 parts ethylacetate to 1 part ethanol as eluent. The fractions containing product are combined and concentrated under reduced pressure to give isobutyl 2-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-nitro-propyl-(methyl)phosphinate as a viscous oil; 31P N.M.R. spectrum: δ=+50.5 and +50.1 ppm (CDCl3).
