Woollins’ Reagent

All articles of this category Introduction Woollins’ Reagent {WR, 2,4-diphenyl-1,3-diselenadi-phosphetane-2,4-diselenide, [PhP(Se)(µ-Se)] 2 } is a selenium analogue of the well-known Lawesson’s reagent, [4-MeOC 6 H 4 P( S )(µ-S)] 2 . Compared to other selenium reagents, the deep-red crystals of WR have less unpleasant chemical properties, are easy to prepare, and safely handled in air. [ ¹ ] WR is used in the synthesis of selenium-­containing organic compounds and P-Se heterocycles. [ ² ] Woollins and co-workers initially prepared WR from the pentamer (PhP) 5 , [ ³ ] which is an air-sensitive compound with a lingering stench. For this reason, they have developed a new method preparing WR producing material of high purity in high yield. [ 4 ] This compound is now commercially available. Figure 1