E-Book Content
Organophosphorus Chemistry
Volume 22
A Specialist Periodical Report
Organophosphorus Chemistry Volume 22
A Review of the Recent Literature Published between July 1 9 8 9 and June 1 9 9 0 Senior Reporters
D. W. Allen, Sheffield City Polytechnic B. J. Walker, Department of Chemistry, David Keir Building, The Queen's University of Belfast
Reporters
C. W. Allen, University of Vermont, U.S.A. R. Cosstick, University of Liverpool 0. Dahl, University of Copenhagen, Denmark R. S. Edmundson, formerly of University of Bradford C. D. Hall, King's College, London
ISBN 0-85 186-206-3 lSSN 0306-07 13 Copyright @ 1991 The Royal Society of Chemistry A II Rights Reserved N o part ofthis book mu?)be reproduced or transmitted in an-vform or by any rnecins - graphic. electronic: including photocopying, recording tqjing. or irlformution storage and retrieval systems - without written
pcwnission .from The Rqval Society of Chernistn
Published by The Royal Society of Chemistry, Thomas Graham House, The Science Park, Cambridge CB4 4WF Printed in Great Britain by Billing & Sons Ltd.. Worcester
Introduction
Volume 22 introduces one of us, David Allen, as a new Senior Reporter, although not as an author since David has contributed to Organophosphorus Chemistry since volume 7. David replaces John Hobbs, who we thank for all his hard work, not only as Senior reporter but also as author of the "Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids" chapter. We have been fortunate in persuading Rick Cosstick to take on the formidable task of writing this chapter and we welcome him. Unfortunately we have again not been able to include the "Physical Methods" chapter but we hope to do so next year. A highlight of the year covered by this volume was the XIth International Conference on Phosphorus Chemistry held in Tallinn, Estonia, during July 1989. This was not only an unusual and most enjoyable experience, it was also a most timely venue in view of the far reaching developments in Eastern Europe. We met many old, and made many new, friends and it is clear that the traditional strength of organophosphorus chemistry in the USSR is safe in the hands of excellent young chemists with modern ideas. We look forward to the XIIth International Conference at Toulouse in 1992. As measured by the numbers of publications the activity in all the areas covered has increased. The interest in the px-bonded area has increased again after last year's apparent decline. The results of a structural study of bis(bory1)diphosphines indicate a P-P bond length in the range normally reserved for P=P bonds. This suggests that the P-P bond shortening in diphosphenes, which has always been interpreted as being due to 3px-3px, may to some extent be a consequence of rehybridization. There have been a number of developments worthy of special mention in chemistry invoIving pentaco-ordinated compounds and intermediates. These include reports of molecular mechanics calculations to study the hydrolysis of cyclic phosphorus esters, further detailed studies of the reactions of tervalent phosphorus compounds with acetylene carboxylates and the first synthesis of a pentaco-ordinated phosphorus compound containing a three-membered (phosphirene) ring. There has also been further elegant work in the area of phosphatrane chemistry. Novel phosphine oxide cage compounds have been prepared from tris(4-hydroxypheny1)phosphine oxide and their structures have been determined by X-ray crystallography. High temperature thermolysis of
vi
lntroduction
dimethylphosphins oxide gives 2-phosphapropene via elimination of water; this is perhaps surpesing since it involves loss of the P=O bond. In tervalent phosphorus acid chemistry the main area of activity has again been the use of tervalent phosphorus acid derivatives for the preparatio