Phosphorus-containing podands

A number of monopodands havingo-diphenylphosphinyl terminal groups were synthesized by alkylating sodium derivatives of oligoethylene glycols witho-(bromomethyl)phenyldiphenylphosphine. The stability constants of the complexes of these ligands with alkali metal cations at 25 °C were determined conductometrically in a THF—chloroform solution (4∶1, v/v). The complexing ability of monopodands with respect to the cations studied increases monotonically as the number of electron-donating sites increases (from 3 to 8) for all of the cations except Li+ and, to some extent, Na+. In the case of Li+ a smooth decrease in the stability of the complexes is observed. The monopodands obtained in this work differ drastically in this regard from their structural isomers, bis[o-(diphenylphosphinylmethyl)phenyl] ethers of oligoethylene glycols, which had been studied previously.