Preparation and Characterization of Parent Phenylphosphinidene and Its Oxidation to Phenyldioxophosphorane: The Elusive Phosphorus Analogue of Nitrobenzene

Triplet phenylphosphinidene was prepared by light-induced elimination of ethylene from the corresponding phenylphosphirane and was characterized by IR and UV/vis spectroscopy together with matching of its spectral data with density functional theory computations. The photolysis of phenylphosphirane in ³P-O₂ doped matrices enabled the spectroscopic identification of a hitherto unknown phenyldioxophosphorane, the long elusive phosphorus analogue of nitrobenzene.