Closing the loop: low‐waste phosphorus functionalization enabled by simple disulfides

Thomas M. Horsley Downie, Ajdin Velić, Luis A. Coelho, Robert Wolf, Daniel J Scott*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Useful monophosphorus products are obtained from both white and red phosphorus via a simple strategy involving initial oxidation by aryl disulfides followed by quenching with nucleophiles. Direct transformations of elemental phosphorus are usually very challenging, forcing chemists to instead rely on inefficient and hazardous multi‐step methods. However, here they are achieved using inexpensive and easy‐to‐handle reagents, providing access to diverse P–C, P–N and P–O bonded products in good yields. By isolating the thiolate byproducts of these reactions, a simple, closed loop can be achieved that produces only minimal, benign waste byproducts, in contrast to other direct methods. This closed loop can even be elaborated into a true (electro)catalytic cycle, which is extremely rare in the field of elemental phosphorus functionalization.
Original languageEnglish
JournalChemSusChem
Early online date11 Nov 2024
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 11 Nov 2024

Keywords

  • Homogeneous catalysis
  • Oxidation
  • phosphanes
  • sulfur
  • white phosphorus

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Closing the loop: low‐waste phosphorus functionalization enabled by simple disulfides'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this