Synthesis and Properties of a Dicationic π-Extended Dithieno[3,2-c:2′,3′-e]-2,7-diketophosphepin

Cyclopalladation of a ferrocene acylphosphine and the reactivity of the C-H activated products

Acylphosphines are an attractive subclass of phosphine ligands with specific reactivity and ligating properties. This study describes the synthesis of a ferrocene-based acylphosphine, FcC(O)PPh₂ (1, Fc = ferrocenyl), the corresponding phosphine chalcogenides FcC(O)P(E)Ph₂ (E = O, S and Se), and palladium(ii) complexes resulting from the orthometallation of 1, viz. [Pd(μ-X)(1- H)]₂ (2-X, where X = Cl, Br and I), which in turn serve as a convenient entry point to a range of monopalladium complexes. Thus, the cleavage of 2-X with phosphines, 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine and in situ-generated 1,3-dimesitylimidazolin-2-ylidene (L) provided complexes [PdX(L)(1- H)] (3-5), which are typically obtained as single isomers by crystallisation but undergo spontaneous isomerisation in solution leading to equilibrium mixtures of cis and trans isomers. Upon treatment with sodium acetylacetonate (Na(acac)), 2-Cl was transformed into [Pd(acac)(1- H)] (6), which reacted with (diphenylphosphino)acetic acid under proton transfer to give [Pd(Ph₂PCH₂CO₂-κ²O,P)(1- H)] (7), while the reaction with allylating agents produced the π-allyl complex [Pd(η³-C₃H₅)(1- H)] (9). Compound [PdCl(PMe₃)(1- H)] was further used to prepare a series of diorganopalladium complexes [Pd(R)(PMe₃)(1- H)] (8; R = Me, 4-C₆H₄Me, 4-C₆H₄CF₃, CH[double bond, length as m-dash]CHC₆H₄Me-4 and C[triple bond, length as m-dash]CC₆H₄Me-4). All compounds were structurally characterised using spectroscopic methods and, in most cases, also by X-ray diffraction analysis. The structural data indicated the rigidity of the Pd(1- H)⁺ fragment and revealed variations in the Pd-donor distances dictated by an interplay between the trans influence and steric demands of the ligands surrounding Pd(ii). Moreover, some compounds were studied by DFT to rationalise their isomerisation equilibria and electrochemical properties, which were examined by cyclic voltammetry.

Aromatic-fused diketophosphanyl-core organic functional materials: phosphorus mimics of imides or beyond?

Recently, missing pieces of organophosphorus compounds, i.e., aromatic-fused diketophosphanyl compounds, have attracted much attention as promising scaffolds of building blocks for functional organic materials. In this review, the brief historical background, synthetic methods, structures, and optoelectronic aspects of aromatic-fused diketophosphanyls are overviewed.

Thieno[3,4-c]phosphole-4,6-dione: A Versatile Building Block for Phosphorus-Containing Functional π-Conjugated Systems

A versatile phosphorus-containing π-conjugated building block, thieno[3,4-c]phosphole-4,6-dione (TPHODO), has been developed. The utility of this simple but hitherto unknown building block has been demonstrated by preparing novel functional organophosphorus compounds and bandgap-tunable conjugated polymers.

Insights on the design and electron-acceptor properties of conjugated organophosphorus materials

The development of conjugated organic materials has become a rapidly evolving field of research, particularly with a view toward practical applications in so-called organic electronics that encompass a variety of device types, such as OLEDs, OPVs, and OFETs. Almost all of these devices minimally require the presence of electron-donor and -acceptor components that act as p- and n-type semiconductors, respectively. Research over the past two decades has shown that while there is an abundant resource of organic p-type materials, suitable n-type species are few and far between. To overcome this severe bottleneck for the further development of organic electronics, researchers have identified organo-main-group avenues as valuable alternatives toward organic electron-acceptor materials that may ultimately be used as n-type components in practical devices. One particular element of interest in this context is phosphorus, which at first glance may not necessarily suggest such properties. In this Account, I provide detailed insights on the origin of the electron-acceptor properties of organophosphorus-based conjugated materials and include an overview of important molecular species that have been developed by my group and others. To this end, I explain that the electron-acceptor properties of conjugated organophosphorus materials originate from an interaction known as negative hyperconjugation. While this particular interaction creates a simply inductively withdrawing phosphoryl substituent for π-conjugated scaffolds, incorporation of a phosphorus atom as an integral part of a cyclic substructure within a π-conjugated system provides a much more complex, versatile, and consequently highly valuable tool for the tuning of the electron-acceptor properties of the materials. Notably, the degree of negative hyperconjugation can effectively be tailored in various ways via simple substitution at the phosphorus center. This is now well established for phosphole-based molecular materials, in which the electron-acceptor properties are also mirrored by the degree of antiaromaticity of the system. Particularly, fused and π-extended phosphole materials show appreciable electron-acceptor properties, evident in low reduction potentials and corresponding LUMO levels. But these features do not always translate into powerful n-type materials. My group and others have thus recently been focusing on molecular organophosphorus scaffolds that also involve incorporation of imino or carbonyl groups, next to the incorporation of low coordinate phosphorus centers, to achieve superior electron-acceptor features. This state-of-the-art research has confirmed the great potential of the organophosphorus route toward powerful electron-acceptor materials, but further work is required to also establish these species as functional n-type materials.