The vast majority of organophosphorus compounds is currently synthesized from phosphorus trichloride (PCl 3 ), even though the final consumer products do not contain reactive phosphorus–chlorine bonds. In order to bypass phosphorus trichloride, significant interest has been devoted to functionalizing elemental phosphorus (P 4 , the precursor to PCl 3 ), red phosphorus (P red ), or phosphine (PH 3 ). Yet, other industrial-scale precursors are ...