Merrifield Resin-C6H4CH2N3P(MeNCH2CH2)3N: an efficient reusable catalyst for room-temperature 1,4-addition reactions and a more convenient synthesis of its precursor P(MeNCH2CH2)3N.

1,4-additions to a variety of Michael acceptors with a wide variety of donors were efficiently catalyzed at room temperature by the title reusable Merrifield resin-supported catalyst. Advantages of this catalyst include a simple workup (filtration of the reaction mixture) and good to excellent product yields. We also report a substantially simplified synthesis of the commercially available strong nonionic base 1, a precursor to the title polymer-bound catalyst.