Stereochemistry of Displacement Reactions at Phosphorus Atoms

Recent interest in the stereochemistry of displacement reactions involving second row elements has led to rapid advances in the preparation and resolution of asymmetric phosphorus compounds. The changes in optical activity accompanying substitution at an optically active phosphorus atom, the reactivity of cyclic phosphates, and the mechanism of intramolecular decomposition reactions involving a phosphorus centre are discussed in terms of the electronic structure of possible transition states.