From a P4 butterfly scaffold to cyclo- and catena-P4 units

Abstract

The reactivity of [{Cp ''' Fe(CO)(2)}(2)(mu,eta(1 : 1)-P-4)] (1) towards half-sandwich complexes of Ru(ii), Rh(iii), and Ir(iii) is studied. The coordination of these Lewis acids leads to a rearrangement of the P-4 butterfly unit to form complexes with either an aromatic cyclo-P4R2 unit (R = Cp ''' Fe(CO)(2)) or a catena-tetraphosphaene entity.