Phosphetene: Synthesis and reactivity

Abstract

• Different synthetic strategies to obtain phosphetenes. • Reactivity of phosphetenes: oxidation and coordination chemistry. • Ring expansion and ring opening of phosphetenes. Four-membered ring heterocycles are often less studied than their five- or six-membered counterparts. It is even more true for four-membered P-rings and in particular their unsaturated congeners, namely phosphetenes. In this review, we report the main synthetic strategies developed to prepare such compounds. The study of their reactivity, either in organic transformations or coordination chemistry, illustrates that they share both specific reactivities of unsaturated strained cycles and phosphanes, making them versatile synthons for original organophosphorus derivatives.