Phosphonic Acid Anhydrides [RPO2]n: Oligomerization and Structure

Abstract

The phosphonic acid anhydrides of the general formula [RPO2]n have been prepared with R = Me, Et, i-Pr, t-Bu, and Ph from the corresponding phosphonic acids and their chlorides and esters. Mass spectrometric data indicate that the trimers are the dominant oligomers for all five systems. According to their NMR spectra, the methyl and t-butyl compounds have a symmetrical (C3v) structure with equivalent RP groups, while the ethyl, i-propyl and phenyl homologues have the Cs structure with non-equivalent PR groups in the ratio 1:2. © 1995 Verlag der Zeitschrift für Naturforschung. All rights reserved.