When a 1-phenyl substituted pyrrole, phosphole or arsole, is reacted with an alkali metal in an inert solvent, the phenyl group is split off yielding the corresponding alkali heterocyclopentadienide. Hydrolysis of the alkali phosphacyclopentadienides gave the first P-unsubstituted phospholes (7a, 7b, 10). Similarly, this method allows the dephenylation of N-phenyl substituted pyrroles. Reaction of the alkali phospholides with alkyl halides offers ...
