Sterically demanding secondary potassium phosphides (4) were synthesized and investigated. Reaction with halophosphanes (5) yields diphosphanes (6), whereas reaction with CS 2 yields phosphanyl dithioformates (10). These can be further converted to the corresponding phosphanyl esters of dithioformic acid R 2 P−C(S)S−PR 2 (8). One of these thioesters (8) was found to undergo a migration reaction, resulting in the formation of a phosphanylthioketone with an additional phosphanylthiolate group ( 9), which was used as a chiral ligand in gold coordination chemistry. The phosphanyl migration reaction was investigated by spectroscopic and theoretical methods, revealing a first-order reaction via a cyclic transition state. All species mentioned were fully characterized.

The activation of C−Br bonds in various bromoalkanes by the biradical [⋅P(μ‐NTer)2P⋅] (1) (Ter=2,6‐bis‐(2,4,6‐trimethylphenyl)‐phenyl) is reported, yielding trans‐addition products of the type [Br−P(μ‐NTer)2P−R] (2), so‐called 1,3‐substituted cyclo‐1,3‐diphospha‐2,4‐diazanes. This addition reaction, which represents a new easy approach to asymmetrically substituted cyclo‐1,3‐diphospha‐2,4‐diazanes, was investigated mechanistically by different spectroscopic methods (NMR, EPR, IR, Raman); the results suggested a stepwise radical reaction mechanism, as evidenced by the in‐situ detection of the phosphorus‐centered monoradical [⋅P(μ‐NTer)2P‐R].< To provide further evidence for the radical mechanism, [⋅P(μ‐NTer)2P‐Et] (3Et⋅) was synthesized directly by reduction of the bromoethane addition product [Br‐P(μ‐NTer)2P‐Et] (2 a) with magnesium, resulting in the formation of the persistent phosphorus‐centered monoradical [⋅P(μ‐NTer)2P‐Et], which could be isolated and fully characterized, including single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. Comparison of the EPR spectrum of the radical intermediate in the addition reaction with that of the synthesized new [⋅P(μ‐NTer)2P‐Et] radical clearly proves the existence of radicals over the course of the reaction of biradical [⋅P(μ‐NTer)2P⋅] (1) with bromoethane. Extensive DFT and coupled cluster calculations corroborate the experimental data for a radical mechanism in the reaction of biradical [⋅P(μ‐NTer)2P⋅] with EtBr. In the field of hetero‐cyclobutane‐1,3‐diyls, the demonstration of a stepwise radical reaction represents a new aspect and closes the gap between P‐centered biradicals and P‐centered monoradicals in terms of radical reactivity.

Reduction of silylated 1,3-dichloro-1,3-diphospha-2,4-diazane, [ClP(μ-NHyp)] 2 [Hyp = Si(SiMe 3 ) 3 ], with activated magnesium in dimethoxyethane allowed the isolation and full characterization of the first stable silylated biradicaloid, [P(μ- [a]

Hypersilyl(trimethylsilyl)aminodichlorophosphine, (hyp)N(SiMe3)PCl2, was treated with GaCl3, which resulted in the formation of an interesting novel bicycle, composed of a four-membered SiNP2 ring and a five-membered P2Ga2Cl ring. In the presence of Me3SiN3, the same reaction provided access to a cyclo-2-phospha-4-sila-1,3-diazenium tetrachlorogallate. The free chloro-cyclo-phosphasiladiazane was obtained by the addition of nucleophilic bases.