A.E. Arbuzov Institute of Organic and Physical Chemistry

Chemistry of phosphorus and its organic and organoelemental compounds as the basis for the development of new substances, materials and technologies is the oldest research field. Many years of research has resulted in laying the scientific foundations for chemistry of trivalent phosphorus derivatives. New rearrangements have been detected, novel types and classes of phosphorus derivatives with coordination number from two to five produced. The Arbuzov and Pudovik reactions mechanisms have been studied in detail, and new reactions of intra- and intermolecular heterocyclization, leading to new mono-, poly-, and spirophosphacycles, cage constructions and heterocycles with carbohydrates fragments, have been developed. The substantial contribution to the study of dual reactivity of P(III) acids derivatives has been made, and the phenomenon of chemical polarization at phosphorus nuclei has been discovered. The reaction of pentacoordinated phosphorus compounds with arylacetylenes, leading to the formation of cyclic phosphorus analogues of natural systems, has been found and thoroughly investigated. Coordination chemistry and organometallic chemistry are quickly developing fields in the Institute.Unusual poly- and heteropolynuclear compounds, as well as paramagnetic complexes of transition metals with free radical fragments, are synthesized at the Institute. The coordination compounds with unusual geometry of transition metal environment are obtained; compounds with phosphorus-metal labile ‘bent’ bonds and optically active metal complexes with chiral ligands are synthesized.