Synthesis and X-ray crystal structures of organotri(2-furyl)phosphonium salts: effects of 2-furyl substituents at phosphorus on intramolecular nitrogen to phosphorus hypervalent coordinative interactions

Abstract

The synthesis of tri(2-furyl)(8-quinolylmethyl)phosphonium bromide and 2-[2-tri(2-furyl)phosphoniophenyl]benzimidazole perchlorate is described, the latter involving a nickel(II)-catalysed displacement of bromine from 2-(2-bromophenyl)benzimidazole by tri(2-furyl)phosphine. X-ray structural studies of the phosphoniobenzimidazole salt reveals the existence of a significant hypervalent coordinative interaction between heterocyclic nitrogen and the phosphonium centre, which also appears to be retained in solution, the 31P NMR spectrum showing a significantly shielded phosphorus atom, δ 31P=ca. 40 ppm in CDCl 3. The structure of the phosphoniophenylbenzimidazole cation reveals major distortion of bond angles about phosphorus away from the idealised tetrahedral angles expected for a tetraarylphosphonium salt, in the range 102–116°. Three of the angles are reduced below the tetrahedral angle and three are increased, the structure about phosphorus approaching that of a trigonal bipyramid, in which the heterocyclic imino nitrogen forms part of a five-membered ring spanning apical–equatorial positions. The apical axis of the trigonal bipyramid is formed by this nitrogen atom and one of the 2-furyl groups, the apical axial bond angle (N2–P–C14) being an average of 178°. The remaining 2-furyl groups occupy equatorial positions, along with the phenyl ring. Significantly, the nitrogen–phosphorus distance is an average of 2.67 Å (for two independent molecules in the unit cell), being the shortest observed in structures of this type, a consequence of the electron-withdrawing properties of the 2-furyl substituents at phosphorus. The structure also shows edge to face associations of 2-furyl substituents of one cation with the phenyl ring of the benzimidazole unit of another cation. The perchlorate anion is hydrogen-bonded to the nitrogen bearing the hydrogen atom in the benzimidazole ring system. In contrast, the N–P interaction in the quinolylmethylphosphonium salt is much less developed, with an N–P distance of 3.511 Å, although there is considerable deformation of bond angles at phosphorus. The crystal structure is dominated by the existence of hydrogen-bonded interactions between the cation, anion and a molecule of water, and by face to face interactions between cations. Both salts undergo loss of a 2-furyl group on treatment with hydroxide ion.