Reactions of Sterically Protected 1-Halo- and 1-Pseudohalo-2-Phosphaethenyl-Lithiums

Abstract

Phosphorus analogs of alkylidenecarbenoid, Ar-P=C(X)Li, where X equals halogen or pseudohalogen atom, such as C1, Br, or SPh, have been generated by use of the 2,4,6-tri-t-butylphenyl group (abbreviated to Ar in the Scheme) as a protecting group for low coordinated organophosphorus compounds. The reaction with methyl iodide and with some aldehydes or ketones, at low temperature, gave the corresponding alkylation products^[l]. The reaction with copper salts gave 1,4-diphosphabutadiene (1) or 1,4-diphosphabutatriene (2), depending upon the substituent X^[2,3], as well as reaction conditions, such as reaction tenlperature and time, solvent, presence or absence of oxygen. Upon warming the phosphaethenyllithiun1s, thus generated, the chloro derivative of E-configuration gave a phosphaalkyne (3) via [1,2]-aromatic migration^[4], whereas the bromo derivative of Z-configuration gave a l-phospha-3,4-dihydronaphthalene derivative (4), that is a formal C-H insertion product of a phosphinidenecarbene intermediate^[5].