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Cover Picture: Photolytic Reductive Elimination of White Phosphorus from a Mononuclear cyclo ‐P 4 Transition Metal Complex (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 6/2019)
Author(s) -
Mandla Kyle A.,
Moore Curtis E.,
Rheingold Arnold L.,
Figueroa Joshua S.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201900201
Subject(s) - white phosphorus , phosphorus , molybdenum , transition metal , chemistry , cover (algebra) , inert gas , inorganic chemistry , nanotechnology , photochemistry , materials science , organic chemistry , catalysis , mechanical engineering , engineering
White phosphorus (P 4 ) is both highly toxic and pyrophoric but its synthetic utility is well appreciated. In their Communication on page 1779 ff., J. S. Figueroa et al. deactivate P 4 by coordination to a molecular molybdenum complex that is safe to handle and air stable. Yet, when this complex is irradiated, intact P 4 tetrahedra are eliminated in a controlled manner. Thus, like fireflies trapped in a jar, phosphorus is held in an inert state by coordination to molybdenum until violet light is used to release white phosphorus, which, like fireflies, can glow in the dark.