Unprecedented Reactivity of Iridium(I) Secondary Phosphine Oxide Complexes: Formation of P-Coordinated Phosphinate Complexes by P−Aryl Bond Cleavage

Aryl−iridium(III) hydride complexes with a P-coordinated phosphinate were formed from [Ir(cod)Cl]₂ and secondary phosphine oxide−oxazoline ligands under basic conditions. The structure of these complexes, whose formation involved C−P cleavage, was assigned by X-ray analysis and NMR spectroscopy.