Dimer complexes, phosphaalkynes

Construction by Extrusion of Cp2Zr from Phosphaalkyne Dimer Complexes... 

Scheme 6-12 Cp2Zr-phosphaalkyne dimer complexes - starting materials for the preparation of tetraphosphacubanes. Cp, cyclopentadienyl thf, tetrahydrofuran.

When the zirconocene-phosphaalkyne dimer complexes 59a-e are treated with hexachloro-ethane, zirconocene dichloride, tetrachloroethene, and the tetraphosphacubanes 53a-e are indeed formed concomitantly (Scheme 6-13). The yields amount to 50-80% with the exception of 53c (30%), which is lower due to the simultaneous formation of isomers (see below) [50b]. The pentacyclic products 53b-e exhibit the same unusual NMR spectra as 53a (see Section 6.S.1.6). 

In addition to the above-mentioned Cp2Zr-phosphaalkyne dimer complexes 59, aluminum compounds of the type 71 are also of major significance for the construction of phosphorus-carbon cage compounds, since the metal unit can be removed easily. 

In the first structurally characterized complexes of type A the metal-phosphorus triple bonds are kinetically stabilized by bulky substituents at the amido ligands. Therefore, these compounds reveal exclusively end-on reactivity via the phosphorus lone pair. This reactivity pattern seems also valid for the solution stable alkoxide derivative [(C/0)3Mo=P], for which the reaction potential is under investigation [13]. In contrast, due to their lesser degree of kinetic stabilization by bulky substituents the short-lived alkoxide containing complexes [(R 0)3W=Pj (R =t-Bu (3c), Ph (3d)), generated by the metathesis reaction between the alkoxide-dimer and the phosphaalkyne (cf. Eq. 8), show additionally a high side-on reactivity towards the phos-phaalkynes of the reaction mixture. Thus, there occurs a formal cycloaddition reaction with the phosphaalkynes, and a subsequent 1,3-OR shift yields the formation of four-membered diphospha-metallo-cyclobutane derivatives 6(Eq. 8) [15,31, 37]. 

To prevent the latter mentioned subsequent reactions, the bulky phos-phaalkyne Ph C P as well as tungsten alkoxides of reduced size as, e.g., [W2(ONp)6] were employed in these three-component reactions with no significant success [15]. The crucial steps for the side-product free synthesis of the phosphido complexes 18 are the introduction of a phosphaalkyne possessing a moderate steric bulkiness, which lies between those of f-BuC=P and Ph C P, and resulting from the P-NMR studies (cf. Eq. 5), a reaction temperature mode allowing the complete metathesis reaction to take place at very low temperatures over a long period of time until all the phosphaalkyne has been converted into the metathesis products (about 12 h) only then is the reaction mixture allowed to reach room temperature. We found that MesC=P meets these steric requirements, and the three-component-reaction between MesC=P, [W2(Of-Bu)6] and [M(CO)5(thf)] (M = Cr, W), carried out at -78 °C and warmed up to ambient temperature within 15 h, succeeded in the synthesis and isolation of the phosphido complex 18a,b (Scheme 2) [15]. Furthermore, if t-BuC=P is incorporated into these reactions, the steric requirements of the alkoxide dimer has to be slightly increased. Thus, f-BuC=P reacts with [W2(OPh )6] and [M(CO)5(thf)] (M=Cr, W) under the... 

In contrast to cycloaddition reactions of phosphaalkenes, cycloaddition reactions between phosphaalkynes and other unsaturated systems are comparatively rare. Indeed, there are only a limited number of reports for monophos-phacyclobutadiene) complexes, which are obtained from the corresponding phosphaalkyne. Relatively recently, the reaction of phosphaalkynes with highly electron deficient alkynes was reported <19990M4838>. Treatment of a CF3C=CGF3-coordinated dimeric rhodium complex with phosphaalkynes in hexane at — 20°C followed by warming to room temperature afforded the red air- and moisture-stable phosphete complexes 60 in ca. 50% isolated yields. When phosphaalkynes are allowed to react with a kinetically stabilized cyclobutadiene, 2-Dewar-phosphinines, for example 93 (Equation 30), are obtained <1998S1305>. 

Similar to the benzynezirconocene, cyclohexyne, cyclopen-tyne, alkyne, alkene, cycloaUcene zirconocenes, and related species insert various substrates such as alkynes, alkenes, aldehydes, ketones, nitriles or phosphaalkynes. They lead in general five-membered zirconacycles, which can be converted by transmetalation or exchange reactions into fused-ring aromatic or heterocyclic compounds. The extension of this chemistry to heterobenzyne complexes can be realized, for instance, in phosphinine compounds. Consequently, under mild conditions, ) -phosphabenzyne-zirconocene complexes are formed and can be isolated either as PMes adducts or as dimers when the elimination reaction is carried out without added phosphane (Scheme 28). 

A high-yielding synthesis was required before systematic investigations of the reactivity of the phosphacubane system could be realized. This was achieved by splitting the cyclotetrameriza-tion of the phosphaalkyne into two cyclodimerization steps the first step is the synthesis of the ziiconocene complex 59 and the second is the removal of its Cp2Zr fragment with subsequent renewed dimerization to furnish the tetraphosphapentacyclic system 53. 

---