Sterically Constrained Bicyclic Phosphines: A Class of Fascinating Compounds Suitable for Application in Small Molecule Activation and Coordination Chemistry.

Bicyclic phosphines with two annulated, electronically unsaturated five-membered heterocycles are available through facile routes. In most cases, their phosphorus atoms are bound to heteroatoms such as oxygen or nitrogen (PN3 or PN2 O), whereas homoleptic coordination by three sp2 -hybridized carbon atoms has been reported only recently. Steric strain causes unique reactivity. Oxidative addition of halogens, N-H or O-H bonds have afforded phosphoranes as valuable materials for secondary processes. Ring opening was identified as an important step for the understanding of these reactions and has been observed experimentally with a diphosphorus-based ring system. A PH2 derivative has been considered as a model system for small molecule activation, and hydrogen transfer to a diazo compound was observed experimentally. Several of these phosphines are excellent ligands for the coordination of transition-metal atoms. The very bulky PC3 compound has a basicity similar to that of PPh3 and may allow the synthesis of complexes with unusually low coordination numbers at the metal atoms. These phosphines found recently renewed interest as promising reagents in various secondary transformations such as the activation of σ-bonds or in coordination chemistry.