Synthesis of Li/OR phosphinidenoid complexes: on the evidence for intramolecular O-Li donation and the effect of cation encapsulation.

Synthesis of phosphinite complexes 12-14a-c, 15a and 16a was achieved via reaction of transient Li/Cl phosphinidenoid complexes 6-10, prepared from dichloro(organo)phosphane complexes [(OC)5M{RPCl2}] 1-5 (1,6: R = CPh3, 2,7: R = C5Me5, 3-5, 8-10: R = CH(SiMe3)2, 1-3, 6-8: M = W, 9: M = Mo, 10: M = Cr), with different alcohols 11a-c (a: R = allyl, b: R = methyl, c: R = isopropyl). Deprotonation of complexes 12b, 13b with MeLi or (t)BuLi in the presence of two equivalents of 12-crown-4 led to the selective formation of phosphinidenoid complexes [Li(12-crown-4)2] [(OC)5W{RP(OCH3)}] (18a R = CPh3 and 18b R = C5Me5) which were stable in solution at ambient temperature, in contrast to Li/OMe phosphinidenoid complexes without 12-crown-4. To our surprise attempts to crystallise complex 18b yielded complex 21 having a Li-O-P subunit. The reaction of complex 17c with [Ph3C]BF4 yielded the P-C coupling product 26 and, hence, the first evidence for an oxidative SET reaction. All isolated products were characterised by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, IR, MS and single-crystal X-ray crystallography in the case of complexes 12a,b, 13b, 14a-c, 15a, 16a and 21.