Series of new chiral tricyclic pentacoordinated phosphorus compounds, “triquinphosphoranes” (13
−
18, 21, 22, and 24), were prepared from chiral enantiopure diamino diols that
present a C
2 symmetry axis. 31P and 13C NMR data are consistent either with a low-energy
single-step Berry pseudorotation process between the two possible diastereomeric trigonal-bipyramidal structures TBP(R
P) and TBP(S
P) or with the chiral square-pyramidal structure
SP. Triquinphosphoranes reacted with borane to give two stable monoadducts with opposite
configurations at the phosphorus center which do not undergo epimerization. The diastereoselectivity of this reaction depends strongly on the nature and the position of the
substituents, the highest diastereomeric excesses being obtained with 4,9-diisopropyl (28;
90% de) and 4,9-diisobutyl (29; 86% de) compounds. The X-ray structure of the major
diastereomer 28M revealed that it is remarkably close to an ideal TBP, exhibiting an S
P
absolute configuration. Semiempirical AM1 MO calculations predict that TBP(R
P) and TBP(S
P) ground-state species are in rapid equilibrium through a SP transition state, the activation
barrier being about 5 kcal/mol. Calculations predict a marked predominance of the R
P form
in all cases, except for 6,7-diPh triquinphosphorane 22. Steric interactions between the
substituents and the tricyclic phosphorane skeleton explain the prevalence of one diastereomer. The diastereoselectivity observed in borane addition on 15 is rationalized in terms
of a kinetically controlled process in which the minor triquinphosphorane diastereomer reacts
faster than the major one to afford (S
P)-28M.