2,6-Dimethoxyphenylphosphirane Oxide and Sulfide and their Thermolysis to Phosphinidene Chalcogenides—Kinetic and Mechanistic Studies

2,6-Dimethoxyphenylphosphirane is readily converted to its oxide and sulfide whose pyrolysis and (perhaps) photolysis lead to the generation of phosphinidene chalcogenides Ar–P Z (Z=O,S). Trapping experiments were carried out under conditions similar to the kinetic studies of the phosphirane chalcogenide pyrolyses that confirmed the formation of free Ar–P Z. The trapping experiments were in accord with carbene-like character for Ar–P Z, and the activation parameters suggest a non-least motion pathway for the addition of Ar–P Z to olefins. This represents quantitative evidence for the validity of the predictions of frontier-orbital theory for species that undergo reactions with small (or no) enthalpic barriers.