Adducts of dicoordinated trivalent phosphorus with carbenes

1,4-Dichloro-3a,6a-diaza-1,4-diphosphapentalene reacts with sodium acetylacetonate to form an adduct of diacylcarbene with trivalent dicoordinated phosphorus. In solution this adduct dimerizes according to the head-to-head type. The phosphorus atoms undergo transformation from the hypervalent state (in the adduct), in which the lone electron pair on the phosphorus atom is not involved in the formation of additional bonds with this phosphorus(III) atom, to the pentavalent pentacoordinated and trivalent tricoordinated state (in the dimer).