Polypnictogen-transfer reagents

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Manfred Scheer
• Subject Area: Inorganic Molecular Chemistry - Synthesis and Characterisation
• Term: from 2014 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 258553031

Polyarsenic and polyphosphorus compounds represent important classes of chemical compounds that are of current interest, especially as they show a strong structural relation to respective organic compounds via the isolobal and diagonal relationship, but indicate considerable differences regarding their reactivity. As these classes of substances are usually preparatively synthesized by using yellow arsenic or white phosphorus, which in many synthetic laboratories can be handled only restrictedly based on their toxicity and extreme sensitivity towards oxygen and light, it is necessary to develop suitable storage and transfer reagents for En units (E = P, As). Target of the project is the synthesis of novel transfer reagents with element rich units, which can be handled preparatively in a simple manner. Using these En rich starting materials, the access to polyarsenic and polyphosphorus derivatives of the transition metals as well as the main group elements will be realized, which then will be exist as unprecedented element rich heteroaromates, heteroatom cage compounds and polymeric compounds. The use of As4 and P4 transfer reagents, which can be preparatively used at ambient temperatures and below, will open the access to new metastable classes of compounds containing hitherto unknown En structural motifs. Besides the generation of new main group element and transition metal compounds the synthesis of new arsenic and phosphorus modifications is targeted.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants