Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026

Preparation and Use of Carbonyl-decorated Carbenes in the Activation of White Phosphorus
Published on: October 3, 2014
Versatile reactivity of a four-coordinate scandium phosphinidene complex: reduction, addition, and CO activation
Yingdong Lv1, Christos E Kefalidis, Jiliang Zhou
1State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
The four-coordinate scandium phosphinidene complex, [LSc(μ-PAr)]2 (L = (MeC(NDIPP)CHC(Me)(NCH2CH2N((i)Pr)2)), DIPP = 2,6-((i)Pr)2C6H3; Ar = 2,6-Me2C6H3) (1), has been synthesized in good yield, and its reactivity has been investigated. Although 1 has a bis(μ-phosphinidene)discandium structural unit, this coordinatively unsaturated complex shows high and versatile reactivity toward a variety of substrates. First, two-electron reduction occurs when substrates as 2,2'-bipyridine, elemental selenium, elemental tellurium, Me3P═S, or Ph3P═E (E = S, Se) is used, resulting in the oxidative coupling of two phosphinidene ligands 2[PAr](2-) into a diphosphene ligand [ArP-PAr](2-). Complex 1 easily undergoes nucleophilic addition reactions with unsaturated substrates, such as benzylallene, benzonitrile, tert-butyl isocyanide, and CS2. This complex also shows a peculiar reactivity to CO and Mo(CO)6, that includes C-P bond formation, C-C coupling and C-O bond cleavage of CO, to afford novel phosphorus-containing products. In the last two types of reactivity, reaction profiles have been computed (for the insertion of (t)BuNC and the CO activation by 1) at the DFT level. The unexpected/surprising sequence of steps in the latter case is also revealed.
Related Concept Videos
Cycloaddition Reactions: Overview
Pericyclic Reactions: Introduction
Pericyclic reactions can be classified into three categories: electrocyclic reactions, cycloaddition reactions, and sigmatropic rearrangements. Electrocyclic reactions and sigmatropic rearrangements are...
Cycloaddition Reactions: MO Requirements for Thermal Activation
Radical Reactivity: Overview
[4+2] Cycloaddition of Conjugated Dienes: Diels–Alder Reaction
[3,3] Sigmatropic Rearrangement of 1,5-Dienes: Cope Rearrangement
![[(DPEPhos)(bcp)Cu]PF6: A General and Broadly Applicable Copper-Based Photoredox Catalyst](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcloudfront.jove.com%2FCDNSource%2Fteasers%2F59739.jpg&w=3840&q=50)
