Abstract
AbstractThe chloroform‐d solution of diphosphine, 1,n‐bis(diphenylphosphino)alkane (Ph2P(CH2)nPPh2; n = 1‐6), was photolyzed with light from a xenon lamp in air. The progress of the reaction was followed by 31P NMR spectroscopy. The observed spectral change showed that the diphosphine is initially oxidized to diphosphine monoxide, Ph2P(═O)(CH2)nPPh2, which is further oxidized to diphosphine dioxide, Ph2P(═O)(CH2)nP(═O)Ph2. The oxidation of the diphosphine to the diphosphine monoxide took place according to first‐order kinetics with respect to the concentration of the diphosphine, the first‐order rate constant, kobs, being larger with increasing number of the methylene units in the spacer. The observation in kinetics is interpreted based on the conformation of the diphosphine radical cation intermediate initially generated by electron transfer from the photoexcited diphosphine to oxygen. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations predict that the diphosphine radical cation takes “folded” conformation where two phosphorus atoms are arranged closely to each other. The “folded” conformer of the diphosphine radical cation results from electrostatic interaction of these two phosphorus atoms. This conformer explains the observed dependency of kobs on the length of the spacer in the diphosphine.
Published Version
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