From a terminal (cis-2-butene-1,4-diyl-1,4-diphosphinidene) complex to some new diphosphorus bicycles

Triple-Bond Reactivity of Diphosphorus Molecules

We report a mild method for generating the diphosphorus molecule or its synthetic equivalent in homogeneous solution; the P2 allotrope of the element phosphorus is normally obtained only under extreme conditions (for example, from P4 at 1100 kelvin). Diphosphorus is extruded from a niobium complex designed for this purpose and can be trapped efficiently by two equivalents of an organic diene to produce an organodiphosphorus compound. Diphosphorus stabilized by coordination to tungsten pentacarbonyl can be generated similarly at 25 degrees C, and in this stabilized form it still efficiently consumes two organic diene molecules for every diphosphorus unit.

Metal-template-directed synthesis of diphosphorus compounds through intramolecular phosphinidene additions

Heating the nonchelating cis-bis-7-phosphanorbornadiene-[Mo(CO)4] complex (13) results in the thermal decomposition of one of the 7-phosphanorbornadiene groups. The phosphinidene thus generated adds intramolecularly to a C=C bond of the other ligand to give the novel diphosphorus complex 14. This reaction constitutes a metal-template-directed synthesis. Likewise, the intramolecular phosphinidene addition to the C=C bond of a Mo-phospholene ligand affords the diphos complex 18. Its crystal structure exhibits an extremely small P-Mo-P bite-angle for a five-membered chelate ring. The similar intramolecular 1,2-addition to a C=C bond of a phosphole ligand gives a highly strained, unstable intermediate product. Scission of its P-Mo bond generates a free coordination site, which is then occupied by either CO or a phosphole to yield complexes 22 and 23, respectively. The analogous intermolecular addition of [PhPW(CO)5] to a [phosphole-W(CO)5] complex gives the di-[W(CO)5] complexed adduct 28. The directing effect of the metal on the intra- and intermolecular additions is discussed.