Alkenylphosphines: Applications in Synthesis, Catalysis and Coordination Chemistry

Alkenylphosphines are compounds of great interest in view of their structures. The most interesting feature is the carbon-carbon double bond, which is directly linked to the phosphorus atom. Nucleophilic addition or cycloaddition reactions can take place at this unsaturation, which can also be used as a coordinating part in the presence of a metal. Thus, alkenylphosphines have found numerous applications in various fields of chemistry. They are useful intermediates in organic synthesis: numerous studies are devoted to their transformation into bidentate ligands, to their use as precursors for dendrimer and polymer chemistry or as ligand for homogeneous catalysis. Due to the presence of both the phosphorus atom and the carbon-carbon double bond, they are also of great interest in coordination chemistry and their different bonding modes have been largely documented. Moreover, after complexation to transition metal, a great amount of work has been carried out on their reactivity in cycloaddition reactions, as well as in functionalization of the carbon-carbon double bond and other miscellaneous reactions. These main applications will be reviewed hereafter.