Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.134, No.28, 11330-11333, 2012
Main Group Redox Catalysis: Reversible P-III/P-V Redox Cycling at a Phosphorus Platform
A planar, trivalent phosphorus compound is shown to undergo reversible two-electron redox cycling (p(III)/P-V) enabling its use as catalyst for a transfer hydrogenation reaction. The trivalent phosphorus compound activates ammonia-borane to furnish a 10-P-5 dihydridophosphorane, which in turn is shown to transfer hydrogen cleanly to azobenzene, yielding diphenylhydrazine and regenerating the initial trivalent phosphorus species. This result constitutes a rare example of two-electron redox catalysis at a main group compound and suggests broader potential for this nonmetal platform to support bond-modifying redox catalysis of the type dominated by transition metal catalysts.