Fragmentation of white phosphorus by a cyclic (alkyl)(amino)alumanyl anion

Abstract

The stable cyclic (alkyl)(amino)alumanyl anion (CAAAl) 3 reacts with white phosphorus (P4) under ambient conditions, in which P4is fragmented into a P1unit to afford the bis(alumanyl)phosphide 2, demonstrating the direct formation of a P anion from an Al anion. Structural and electronic features of the latter were fully characterized by standard spectroscopic means, X-ray diffraction analysis, and computational studies, which revealed that 2 bears highly polarized Al (δ+) and P (δ-) and relatively short Al-P bonds, indicative of the σ-donating and π-accepting nature of CAAAl groups.