The stereochemical course of exocyclic displacement reactions of a five-ring phosphinate ester
Abstract
The stereochemical course of the exocyclic displacement reaction of a five-ring phosphinate (1-methoxy-3-methylphospholan-1-oxide) has been shown to proceed with inversion of configuration, which rules out a pathway involving a single pseudorotation step and suggests a direct in-line displacement with the ring diequatorial in the pentacoordinate intermediate or transition state.