Structure of Tris[2-(4-pyridyl)ethyl]phosphine, Tris[2-(2-pyridyl)ethyl]phosphine, and Their Chalcogenides in...

Tris(hetaryl)substituted phosphines and their chalcogenides are promising polydentate ligands for the design of metal complexes. An experimental and theoretical conformational analysis of tris[2-(4-pyridyl)ethyl]phosphine, tris[2-(2-pyridyl)ethyl]phosphine, and their chalcogenides was carried out by the methods of dipole moments, IR spectroscopy and DFT B3PW91/6-311++G(df,p) calculations. In solution, these compounds exist as an equilibrium of mainly non-eclipsed (synclinal or antiperiplanar) forms with a predominance of a symmetrical conformer having a gauche-orientation of the C_sp3-C_sp3 bonds of pyridylethyl substituents relative to the P=X bond (X = lone pair, O, S, Se) and a gauche-orientation of the pyridyl rings relative to the zigzag ethylene bridges. Regardless of the presence and nature of the chalcogen atom (oxygen, sulfur, or selenium) in the studied molecules with many axes of internal rotation, steric factors-the different position of the nitrogen atoms in the pyridyl rings and the configuration of ethylene bridges-determine the realization and spatial structure of preferred conformers.