Reactions of the persistent phosphinyl radical •P[CH(SiMe $_{3}$ ) $_{2}$ ] $_{2}$ with elemental chalcogens

Abstract

The persistent phosphinyl radical •P[CH(SiMe $_{3})_{2}$ ] $_{2}$ reacts readily with elemental sulfur, selenium or tellurium to afford the chalcogen-bridged derivatives of formula R $_{2}$ P-X-PR $_{2}$ [R= (Me $_{3}$ Si) $_{2}$ CH; X= S, Se, Te], each of which was characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.