UC Santa Cruz

In this work, the reactivity of tetrel-functionalized phosphorus clusters toward organoazides is probed. Clusters (Me₃Si)₃P₇ (1) and (Me₃Ge)₃P₇ (2) were reacted with benzyl azide, phenyl azide, and 4-bromophenyl azide, and it was found that the [RN] (R = benzyl, phenyl, and 4-bromophenyl) unit from the azide inserted into the phosphorus-tetrel bonds on the cluster, accompanied by N₂ elimination. Through control of the azide stoichiometry, the mono-, bis-, and tris-inserted products could be observed, consistent with these insertions proceeding in a stepwise manner. The bonding between the amine moieties and clusters was further investigated by computational chemistry, and the findings were consistent with the phosphorus cluster having undergone a formal oxidation. These insertion reactions are a convenient means of accessing Zintl clusters functionalized with exo-nitrogen-bonded moieties, which, to the best of our knowledge, were previously unknown.