Phosphorus chlorides
There are three series of binary phosphorus halides, containing phosphorus in the oxidation states +5, +3 and +2. All compounds have been described, in varying degrees of detail, although serious doubts have been cast on the existence of PI5. Mixed chalcogen halides also exist.
In the gas phase the phosphorus pentahalides have trigonal bipyramidal molecular geometry as explained by VSEPR theory.
Phosphorus pentafluoride is a relatively inert gas, notable as a mild Lewis acid and a fluoride ion acceptor. It is a fluxional molecule in which the axial (ax) and equatorial (eq) fluorine atoms interchange positions by the Berry pseudorotation mechanism.
Phosphorus pentachloride, phosphorus pentabromide, and phosphorus heptabromide are ionic in the solid and liquid states; PCl5 is formulated as PCl4+PCl6–, but in contrast, PBr5 is formulated as PBr4+ Br−, and PBr7 is formulated as PBr4+Br3−. They are widely used as chlorinating and brominating agents in organic chemistry.
The phosphorus(III) halides are the best known of the three series. They are usually prepared by direct reaction of the elements, or by transhalogenation.
Phosphorus trifluoride is used as a ligand in coordination chemistry, where it resembles carbon monoxide. Phosphorus trichloride is a major industrial chemical and widely used starting material for phosphorus chemistry. Phosphorus tribromide is used in organic chemistry to convert alcohols to alkyl bromides and carboxylic acids to acyl bromides (e.g. in the Hell-Volhard-Zelinsky reaction). Phosphorus triiodide also finds use in organic chemistry, as a mild oxygen acceptor.
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