09.01.2026 Bismuth Complexes as Sources of Phosphanyl Radicals!

Homoleptic bismut phosphanides Bi(PR₂)₃ could for the first time be synthetized and isolated. Due to the low Bi–P bond dissociation energy, these compounds readily release phosphaphanyl radicals (PR₂)^• in a controlled manner, as demonstrated by EPR spectroscopy. This reveals a novel pathway for the inversion of PR₃ groups. In initial reactivity studies, phosphaphanyl radicals could selectively and in some cases reversibly be transfered to external substrates such as CS₂, ethylene, and α-olefins. These results have just been accepted for publication in Chem. Sci. - congratulations to everyone involved!