The azazirconacyclopentene-substituted phosphines 3 and 4 have been found t
o activate the C-H bonds of acetylenic systems, such as methylpropiolate, d
iphenylphosphinoacetylene and phenylacetylene, or of methylene compounds, s
uch as malonitrile and diethylmalonate, to give complexes 5a-c, 6a and 6b.
C-H bond activation also takes place with vinylacetate. Similar reactions w
ith amines, alcohols, enolisable ketones, phenols, phosphonates, thiols and
a second-generation SH-terminated dendrimer lead through X-H bond activati
on (X = N, O, P, S) to new complexes 8a-c, 9, 12a,b, 13, 14ac, 15, 16a and
16b. The azazirconacyclopentene-substituted amine 20 reacts to form analogo
us complexes. Zr-X bonds of these complexes (X = C, N, O, S) can be cleaved
with diphenylchlorophosphine to give P-X phosphorus derivatives in high yi
eld.