abstract:An ylide or ylid ( or ) is a neutral dipolar molecule containing a formally negatively charged atom (usually a carbanion) directly attached to a heteroatom with a formal positive charge (usually nitrogen, phosphorus or sulfur), and in which both atoms have full octets of electrons. Ylides are thus 1,2-dipolar compounds.
This paperreviews briefly the recent progress inthechemistry and applicationsof some organophosphorus and organoarsenic ylides as well as the PO stabilized carbanions.