Synthesis of Photochromic Phosphines by Pd-Catalyzed Annulation Reaction of Alkynes Bearing Phosphinyl Substituent with a Silacyclopropene

The synthesis of phosphines with light controlled basicity is presented in this study. A methodological approach for the preparation of these unconventional photochromic phosphines based on a dithienylethene organic moiety is reported. It relies on the palladium-catalyzed annulation of alkynyl phosphines in the presence of a 2,3-Dithienylsilacyclopropene. Accordingly, a diphenyphosphino moiety is connected to the organic photochrome thanks to different linkers. Their influence on the photochromism and on the phosphinyl group basicity is studied and evaluated based on experimental an NMR descriptor as well as DFT calculations.

Chemodivergent Staudinger Reactions of Secondary Phosphine Oxides and Application to the Total Synthesis of LL-D05139β Potassium Salt

Unprecedented Staudinger reaction modes of secondary phosphine oxides (SPO) and organic azides are herein disclosed. By the application of various additives, selective nitrogen atom exclusion from the azide group has been achieved. Chlorotrimethylsilane mediates a stereoretentive Staudinger reaction with a 2-N exclusion which provides a valuable method for the synthesis of phosphinic amides and can be considered complementary to the stereoinvertive Atherton-Todd reaction. Alternatively, a 1-N exclusion pathway is promoted by acetic acid to provide the corresponding diazo compound. The effectiveness of this protocol has been further demonstrated by the total synthesis of the diazo-containing natural product LL-D05139β, which was prepared as a potassium salt for the first time in 6 steps and 26.5 % overall yield.

Universal and divergent P-stereogenic building with camphor-derived 2,3-diols

The access to P-stereogenic motifs has always been considered a very challenging and high attractive mission in modern organic synthesis. While several chiral auxiliaries employed by the practical Jugé-Stephan-like methodology have been developed, new type of readily accessible bifunctional ligands toward P-stereogenic building still remain much desirable. Herein, we present a powerful chiral template, camphor-derived 2,3-diols named CAMDOL, which were designed and synthesized from the commercially cheap camphorquinone in high yields at 50 grams scale with a column-free purification. Diverse P(III)-chiral compounds and their borane forms including phosphinous acids, phosphinites, and phosphines, as well as the corresponding P(V)-chiral compounds including phosphinates, phosphine oxides, phosphinothioates, phosphine sulfides, and secondary phosphine oxides were afforded in high yields and ee values through the optimal 2,3-diphenyl CAMDOL platform. An unusual C³-OP bond cleavage following the first P-OC² bond breaking was observed during the ring-opening process when quenching by NH₄Cl solution, which generates a unique but valuable camphor-epoxide scaffold as by-product.

Phosphine Oxide-Promoted Rh(I)-Catalyzed C-H Cyclization of Benzimidazoles with Alkenes

Ligands play a critical role in promoting transition-metal-catalyzed C-H activation reactions. However, owing to high sensitivity of the reactivity of C-H activation to metal catalysts, the development of effective ligands has been a formidable challenge in the field. Rh(I)-catalyzed C-H cyclization of benzimidazoles with alkenes has been faced with low reactivity, often requiring very harsh conditions. To address this challenge, a phosphine oxide-enabled Rh(I)-Al bimetallic catalyst was developed for the reaction, significantly promoting the reactivity and allowing the reaction to run at 120 °C with up to 97% yield.

Atom-economical synthesis of 1,2-bis(phosphine oxide)ethanes from calcium carbide with straightforward access to deuterium- and 13C-labeled bidentate phosphorus ligands and metal complexes

Straightforward access to bidentate phosphorus ligands and bis(phosphineoxide)ethanes is described based on atom-economic addition reaction. A practical approach was developed to incorporate 2H and 13C labels using easily available reagents.

Secondary Phosphine Sulfide-Enabled Iridium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Allylic Substitution

An iridium-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of branched allylic phosphine compounds under mild conditions is reported. Products bearing various functional groups can be synthesized with excellent stereoselectivity (up to 99.9 % ee) and regioselectivity. The employment of phosphine sulfides with relatively low deactivation capacity against metal catalysts is crucial for the success of this reaction.

Transition metal complexes of the PPO/POP ligand: variable coordination chemistry and photo-luminescence properties

In the current work the tautomeric equilibrium between tetraphenyldiphosphoxane (Ph₂P-O-PPh₂, POP) and tetraphenyldiphosphine monoxide (Ph₂P-P(O)Ph₂, PPO) in the absence and presence of transition metal precursors is investigated. Whereas with hard transition metal ions, such as Fe(II) and Y(III), PPO-type complexes, such as [FeCl₂(PPO)₂] (1) and [YCl₃(THF)₂(PPO)] (2), are formed, softer transition metals ions tend to form so-called coordination stabilised tautomers of the POP ligand form, such as [Cu₂(MeCN)₃(μ₂-POP)₂](PF₆)₂ (3), [Au₂Cl₂(μ₂-POP)] (4), and [Au₂(μ₂-POP)₂](OTf)₂ (5). The photo-optical properties of the PPO- and POP-type transition metal complexes are investigated experimentally using photo-luminescence spectroscopy, whereby the presence of metallophillic interactions was found to play a crucial role. The dinuclear copper complex [Cu₂(MeCN)₃(μ₂-POP)₂](PF₆)₂ (3) shows a very interesting thermochromic behavior and intense photo-luminescence with remarkable phosphoresence lifetimes at 77 K, which can probably be attributed to short intramolecular Cu-Cu distances.

Nickel and Palladium Complexes of a PP(O)P Pincer Ligand Based upon a peri-Substituted Acenaphthyl Scaffold and a Secondary Phosphine Oxide

A PP(O)P pincer ligand based upon a peri-substituted acenaphthyl (Ace) scaffold and a secondary phosphine oxide, (5-Ph₂P-Ace-6-)₂P(O)H, was prepared and fully characterized including a neutron diffraction study. The reaction with [Ni(H₂O)₆]Cl₂ and PdCl₂ produced ionic metal(II) complexes [κ³-P,P',P''((5-Ph₂P-Ace-6-)₂P(OH))MCl]Cl, which upon addition of Et₃N gave rise to zwitterionic metal(II) complexes κ³-P,P',P''((5-Ph₂P-Ace-6-)₂P(O))MCl (M = Ni, Pd). The reaction with Ni(COD)₂ (COD = cyclooctadiene) provided the η³-cyclooctenyl Ni(II) complex κ³-P,P',P''((5-Ph₂P-Ace-6-)₂P(O))Ni(η³-C₈H₁₃). A detailed complementary bonding analysis of the P-H, P-O, and P-M interactions was carried out (M = Ni, Pd).

Transition Metal Catalysis Controlled by Hydrogen Bonding in the Second Coordination Sphere

Transition metal catalysis is of utmost importance for the development of sustainable processes in academia and industry. The activity and selectivity of metal complexes are typically the result of the interplay between ligand and metal properties. As the ligand can be chemically altered, a large research focus has been on ligand development. More recently, it has been recognized that further control over activity and selectivity can be achieved by using the "second coordination sphere", which can be seen as the region beyond the direct coordination sphere of the metal center. Hydrogen bonds appear to be very useful interactions in this context as they typically have sufficient strength and directionality to exert control of the second coordination sphere, yet hydrogen bonds are typically very dynamic, allowing fast turnover. In this review we have highlighted several key features of hydrogen bonding interactions and have summarized the use of hydrogen bonding to program the second coordination sphere. Such control can be achieved by bridging two ligands that are coordinated to a metal center to effectively lead to supramolecular bidentate ligands. In addition, hydrogen bonding can be used to preorganize a substrate that is coordinated to the metal center. Both strategies lead to catalysts with superior properties in a variety of metal catalyzed transformations, including (asymmetric) hydrogenation, hydroformylation, C-H activation, oxidation, radical-type transformations, and photochemical reactions.

Mechanistic Details of Asymmetric Bromocyclization with BINAP Monoxide: Identification of Chiral Proton-Bridged Bisphosphine Oxide Complex and Its Application to Parallel Kinetic Resolution

The mechanism of our previously reported catalytic asymmetric bromocyclization reactions using 2,2'-bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,1'-binaphthyl (BINAP) monoxide was examined in detail by the means of control experiments, NMR studies, X-ray structure analysis, and CryoSpray electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analysis. The chiral BINAP monoxide was transformed to a key catalyst precursor, proton-bridged bisphosphine oxide complex (POHOP·Br), in the presence of N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) and contaminating water. The thus-formed POHOP further reacts with NBS to afford BINAP dioxide and molecular bromine (Br₂) simultaneously in equimolar amounts. While the resulting Br₂ is activated by NBS to form a more reactive brominating reagent (Br₂─NBS), BINAP dioxide serves as a bifunctional catalyst, acting as both a Lewis base that reacts with Br₂─NBS to form a chiral brominating agent (P═O⁺─Br) and also as a Brønsted base for the activation of the substrate. By taking advantage of this novel concerted Lewis/Brønsted base catalysis by BINAP dioxide, we achieved the first regio- and chemodivergent parallel kinetic resolutions (PKRs) of racemic unsymmetrical bisallylic amides via bromocyclization.

Intramolecular attack on coordinated nitriles: metallacycle intermediates in catalytic hydration and beyond

Hydration of nitriles is catalyzed by the enzyme nitrile hydratase, with iron or cobalt active sites, and by a variety of synthetic metal complexes. This Perspective focuses on parallels between the reaction mechanism of the enzyme and a class of particularly active catalysts bearing secondary phosphine oxide (SPO) ligands. In both cases, the key catalytic step was proposed to be intramolecular attack on a coordinated nitrile, with either an S-OH or S-O^- (enzyme) or a P-OH (synthetic) nucleophile. Attack of water on the heteroatom (S or P) in the resulting metallacycle and proton transfer yields the amide and regenerates the catalyst. Evidence for this mechanism, its relevance to the formation of related metallacycles, and its potential for design of more active catalysts for nitrile hydration is summarized.

Asymmetric Synthesis of P-Stereogenic Secondary Phosphine ­Oxides (SPOs)

P-Stereogenic secondary phosphine oxides [SPOs, RR′P(O)H], valuable ligands for metal complexes in asymmetric catalysis, are also building blocks for other chiral phosphorus derivatives. This short review summarizes methods used for asymmetric synthesis of P-stereogenic SPOs.

1 Introduction

2 Configurational Stability of P-Stereogenic SPOs

3 Classical Resolution, HPLC Separation, and Dynamic Resolution

4 Synthesis via Chiral Auxiliaries

5 Kinetic Resolution

6 Conclusions and Outlook

Secondary Phosphine Oxide Functionalized Gold Clusters and Their Application in Photoelectrocatalytic Hydrogenation Reactions

Ligands in ligand-protected metal clusters play a crucial role, not only because of their interaction with the metal core, but also because of the functionality they provide to the cluster. Here, we report the utilization of secondary phosphine oxide (SPO), as a new family of functional ligands, for the preparation of an undecagold cluster Au11-SPO. Different from the commonly used phosphine ligand (i.e., triphenylphosphine, TPP), the SPOs in Au11-SPO work as electron-withdrawing anionic ligands. While coordinating to gold via the phosphorus atom, the SPO ligand keeps its O atom available to act as a nucleophile. Upon photoexcitation, the clusters are found to inject holes into p-type semiconductors (here, bismuth oxide is used as a model), sensitizing the p-type semiconductor in a different way compared to the photosensitization of a n-type semiconductor. Furthermore, the Au11-SPO/Bi₂O₃ photocathode exhibits a much higher activity toward the hydrogenation of benzaldehyde than a TPP-protected Au₁₁-sensitized Bi₂O₃ photocathode. Control experiments and density functional theory studies point to the crucial role of the cooperation between gold and the SPO ligands on the selectivity toward the hydrogenation of the C═O group in benzaldehyde.

A comprehensive review of caged phosphines: synthesis, catalytic applications, and future perspectives

Caged phosphines are versatile ligands due to their rigid backbones, exhibiting a range of catalytic activities, as depicted through the given pictorial representation.

Yttrium and lanthanum bis(phosphine-oxide)methanides: structurally diverse, dynamic, and reactive

Homoleptic yttrium and lanthanum complexes of bis(phosphineoxide) methanides, RE(HPhL)3 and RE2(HMeL)6, promote the first rare-earth mediated Horner-Wittig and acid-base chemistry consistent with multifunctional reactivity (Lewis-acid/Brønstedbase).

Heterolytic cleavage of dihydrogen (HCD) in metal nanoparticle catalysis

Supports, ligands and additives can promote heterolytic H₂ splitting by a cooperative mechanism with metal nanoparticles.

Diastereoselective Synthesis of P-Stereogenic Secondary Phosphine Oxides (SPOs) Bearing a Chiral Substituent by Ring Opening of (+)-Limonene Oxide with Primary Phosphido Nucleophiles

Kinetic separation of the commercially available cis/trans-(+)-limonene oxide mixture by ring opening with primary phosphido nucleophiles LiPHR (R = ferrocenyl, Ph, Cy, t-Bu, Mes* (Mes* = 2,4,6-(t-Bu)₃C₆H₂)), followed by treatment with aqueous NH₄Cl and H₂O₂, gave unreacted cis-(+)-limonene oxide and diastereoenriched mixtures of the secondary phosphine oxides (SPOs) PHR(trans-(+)-Lim-OH)(O), which could be separated by chromatography and/or recrystallization. This one-pot synthesis uses a cheap chiral material and commercially available primary phosphines to control the configuration of the new P-stereogenic SPOs, which are potentially useful as ligands for metal complexes in asymmetric catalysis.

C-F Activation for C(sp2)-C(sp3) Cross-Coupling by a Secondary Phosphine Oxide (SPO)-Nickel Complex

A secondary phosphine oxide (SPO)-nickel catalyst allowed the activation of otherwise inert C-F bonds of unactivated arenes in terms of challenging couplings with primary and secondary alkyl Grignard reagents. The C-F activation is characterized by mild reaction conditions and high levels of branched selectivity. Electron-rich and electron-deficient arenes were suitable electrophiles for this transformation. In addition, this strategy also proved suitable to heterocycles and for the activation of C-O bonds under slightly modified conditions.