Inorganic Chemistry, Vol.46, No.23, 9979-9987, 2007
Synthesis and characterization of new nitrogen-donor-stabilized N-silylphosphoranimine cations
The phosphoranimine Br(CF3CH2O)(2)P=NSiMe3 (12) reacts quantitatively with nitrogen bases pyridine, 4,4'-bipyridine, and quinuclidine (quin) to form the N-donor stabilized phosphoranimine cations [N-donor-P(OCH2CF3)(2)=NSiMe3] ([15](+)) in the presence of the halide abstractor AgOTf. In contrast to quinuclidine, in the absence of a halide abstractor, the weak bases pyridine and 4,4'-bipyridine do not undergo reactions with 12 or with the phosphoranimine Cl3P=NSiMe3 (7). Furthermore, unlike the weaker bases, quinuclidine also reacts with 7 to form the expected quinuclidine-stabilized phosphoranimine cation [quin center dot PCl2=NSiMe3](+) ([16](+)) in the presence of AgOTf. However, in the absence of AgOTf, quinuclidine reacts with 7 to presumably yield the salt [16]Cl, which then undergoes a further quinuclidine ring-opening reaction to yield the cationic piperidyl-substituted phosphoranimine [(quin)CH2-CH2C5H9N-PCl2=NSiMe3]Cl ([19]Cl). Reactions involving 7 and 12 with other halide abstraction reagents, such as GaCl3, are also described.