Direct synthesis of the 1,2,3-[C6H4P...P...P]- anion, isoelectronic with the indenyl anion [C6H4CH...CH...CH]-

The two products obtained from the reaction of 1,2-(PH(2))(2)C(6)H(4) with the mixed-metal base (n)BuLi-Sb(NMe(2))(3) in the presence of 12-crown-4, [Li(12-crown-4)(2)]+[C(6)H(4)P(3)]- (1) and {[Li(12-crown-4)(2)]+}3[Sb(11)]3- (2), represent thermodynamic sinks in which P-P and Sb-Sb bonding are maximized at the expense of P-Sb bonding, providing access to the 1,2,3-[C(6)H(4)P(3)]- phospholide anion.