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Updated: Dec 5, 2025

Preparation and Use of Carbonyl-decorated Carbenes in the Activation of White Phosphorus
Published on: October 3, 2014
Synthesis and decarbonylation chemistry of gallium phosphaketenes
Daniel W N Wilson1, William K Myers2, Jose M Goicoechea1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Chemistry Research Laboratory, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK. jose.goicoechea@chem.ox.ac.uk.
Abstract:
A series of gallium phosphaketenyl complexes supported by a 1,2-bis(aryl-imino)acenaphthene ligand (Dipp-Bian) are reported. Photolysis of one such species induced decarbonylation to afford a gallium substituted diphosphene. Addition of Lewis bases, specifically trimethylphosphine and the gallium carbenoid Ga(Nacnac) (Nacnac = HC[C(Me)N-(C6H3)-2,6-iPr2]2), resulted in displacement of the phosphaketene carbonyl to yield base-stabilised phosphinidenes. In several of these transformations, the redox non-innocence of the Dipp-Bian ligand was found to give rise to radical intermediates and/or side-products.
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