White, red & black: playing with elemental phosphorus from organometallic chemistry to innovative materials

In this communication the most recent achievements in the area of elemental phosphorus' reactivity deriving from the authors' own research in Florence (Italy), will be presented and discussed. These will include: othe activation of white phosphorus mediated by late-transition metal complexes with particular emphasis to the unusual hydrolytic behavior of the P4 molecule following its ?1-coordination to a metal centre (Fe, Ru, Os);1 othe high pressure reactivity of red phosphorus towards water and other small molecules,2 oour preliminary results in exploring the chemistry of the less reactive allotrope of the element, i.e. black phosphorus.3 Highlights of the presented work will include: othe presentation of the stepwise demolition by water of both mono- and bidentatetetraphosphorus ligands in ruthenium complexes, which results in a variety of Px fragments (x <= 4) like P-oxyacids, phosphanes and hydroxyphosphanes stabilised by metal-coordination at ruthenium and, the easy access to twodimensional flakes of phosphorene (the all-P counterpart of graphene) via a solution synthesis which avoids the use of boring and scarcely productive scotch-tape exfoliation procedures.