Electrophilic attack on unsubstituted phosphorus units in transition metal compounds: synthesis and characterization of the methyltriphosphirene unit stabilized by transition metal–ligand fragments

Abstract

The reaction of trimethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate or methyl trifluoromethanesulphonate with the [(triphos)M(P₃)] complexes [triphos = 1,1,1-tris(diphenylphosphinomethyl)ethane; M = Co, Rh, or lr] in which the triphosphirene ring is η³-bonded to the metal, yields the compounds [(triphos)M(MeP₃)]Y (Y = BF₄, CF₃SO₃) which contain the novel methyltriphosphirene unit η³-linked to the M(triphos) moiety.