Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Preparation and Reactivity of a Triphosphenium Bromide Salt: A Convenient and Stable Source of Phosphorus(I)
Published on: November 22, 2016
The extended σ*-Lewis acidity of catena-tetraphosphorus dication, [(C6H5)2P(C6H4)P]22
John R De Backere1, Amelie Niefanger1,2, Brandon White3
1Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St George St., Toronto, Ontario M5S3H6, Canada. dstephan@chem.utoronto.ca.
Abstract:
The salt [(C6H5)2P(C6H4)P]2[O3SCF3]2 which was synthesized via reductive P-P coupling of C6H4(PPh2)(PCl2), exhibits Lewis acidity derived from the σ*-orbitals of the central PP bond. This was evidenced by the Guttmann-Beckett test, the isolation of [(C6H5)2P(C6H4)P]2Br[O3SCF3] where bromide is associated with the P-P bond, and supported by computational studies.
Related Concept Videos
Predicting Molecular Geometry
Aromatic Hydrocarbon Cations: Structural Overview
Removing one hydrogen from the intervening CH2 group with both...
Lewis Structures of Molecular Compounds and Polyatomic Ions
Crystal Field Theory - Tetrahedral and Square Planar Complexes
Crystal field theory (CFT) is applicable to molecules in geometries other than octahedral. In octahedral complexes, the lobes of the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals point directly at the ligands. For tetrahedral complexes, the d orbitals remain in place, but with only four ligands located between the axes. None of the orbitals points directly at the tetrahedral ligands. However, the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals (along the Cartesian axes) overlap with the ligands less than the dxy,...
Valence Bond Theory
Valence Bond Theory

