Heterobimetallic Polyphosphido Complexes as useful Synthons for the Activation and Functionalization of white Phosphorus

This thesis reports on the synthesis and characterization of novel heterodinuclear polyphosphido complexes and in particular their application in the functionalisation of white phosphorus (P4). Chapter 1 defines heterobimetallic also termed heterodinuclear activation and functionalization of P4 and gives an overview of the current state of this research field. Chapter 2 addresses the synthesis of cobalt-gallium heterobimetallic tetraphosphido complexes and represents a rare example of their subsequent functionalization resulting in novel organo-substituted pentaphosphido complexes. The synthesis and characterization of iron-gallium and cobalt-gallium tetraphosphido complexes featuring reduced P4 units and labile ligands is described in chapter 3. In chapter 4 the benefits of heterodinuclear P4 activation were further explored in the synthesis of single source precursors for phosphorus-base materials and the unusual Ni2Si2P8 cluster was synthesized under mild conditions. Chapter 5 deals with the targeted synthesis of new heterodinuclear inorganic sandwich complexes, which have proven to be suitable precursors for the construction of polyphosphido complexes such as a “carbon-free” homoleptic bis(tetraphosphacyclobutadiene) cobaltate. The synthetic mythology developed and presented in this chapter might pave the way to a variety of novel polyphosphorus compounds. The final chapter 6 summarizes the results of this thesis and gives a brief outlook for future projects