<div>The isolation and reactivities of two pentacoordinated phosphorus–tetracoordinated boron bonded compounds were</div><div>explored. A strong Lewis acidic boron reagent and electron-withdrawing ligand system were required to form the</div><div>pentacoordinated phosphorus state of the P–B bond. The first compound, a phosphoranyl-trihydroborate, gave a THF</div><div>stabilised phosphoranyl-borane intermediate upon a single hydride abstraction in THF. This compound could undergo a</div><div>unique rearrangement reaction, that involved a two-fold ring expansion, to give an unusual fused bicyclic compound or it</div><div>could act as a mono-hydroboration reagent. The hydroboration reactivity of the intermediate was found to be more reactive</div><div>towards alkynes over alkenes with good to moderate regioselectivity towards the terminal carbon. The second compound,</div><div>a phosphoranyl-triarylborate, was found to have a vastly different reactivity to the trihydroborate as it was highly stable</div><div>towards acids and bases. This is thought to be due to the large bulk around the P–B bond as shown in the crystal structure</div>
Structurally diverse arene-fused ten-membered lactams accessed via hydrolytic imidazoline ring expansion
