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Updated: May 27, 2026

Preparation and Use of Carbonyl-decorated Carbenes in the Activation of White Phosphorus
Published on: October 3, 2014
Synthesis, structure, and reactivity of carbene-stabilized phosphorus(III)-centered trications [L3P]3+
Jekaterina Petuškova1, Mahendra Patil, Sigrid Holle
1Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz 1, D-45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany.
Abstract:
Carbene-stabilized [L(3)P](+3) cations have been synthesized for the first time by a reaction between 1-chloro-2,3-bis(dialkylamino)cyclopropenium salts and P(SiMe(3))(3). In addition, the first structural characterization of such an entity is reported. Consistent with the X-ray data, density functional calculations indicate that these P-centered cations, despite their high positive charge, still feature a nonbonding electron pair on the P-atom (HOMO) and a very low-lying LUMO depicting them as poor σ-donors and excellent π-acceptors.
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