Phosphetane

A phosphetane is a 4-membered organophosphorus heterocycle. The parent phosphetane molecule, which has the formula C₃H₇P, is one atom larger than phosphiranes, one smaller than phospholes, and is the heavy-atom analogue of azetidines. The first known phosphetane synthesis was reported in 1957 by Kosolapoff and Struck, but the method was both inefficient and hard to reproduce, with yields rarely exceeding 1%. A far more efficient method was reported in 1962 by McBride, whose method allowed for the first studies into the physical and chemical properties of phosphetanes. Phosphetanes are a well understood class of molecules that have found broad applications as chemical building blocks, reagents for organic/inorganic synthesis, and ligands in coordination chemistry.