Cyanophosphaethyne
Chemical compound
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cyanophosphaethyne is an unstable molecular compound with structural formula N≡C–C≡P. It can be considered as cyanogen with one nitrogen atom replaced by phosphorus. It has been made as a dilute gas. Cyanophosphaethyne has been tentatively detected in the interstellar medium.[1] Other structural isomers, such as C≡N–C≡P (isocyanophosphapropyne), C≡C-N≡P (azaphosphadicarbon), and N≡C–P=C (isocyanophosphavinylidene), have not been observed.[2] The molecule has linear molecular geometry (C∞v molecular symmetry).[3]
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| Names | |
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| Preferred IUPAC name
Phosphanylidyneacetonitrile | |
| Other names
1,4-Azaphosphabutadiyne; C-Cyanophosphaethyne; Phosphinidyneacetonitrile; Cyanophosphapropyne | |
| Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) |
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| ChemSpider | |
PubChem CID |
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CompTox Dashboard (EPA) |
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| Properties | |
| C2NP | |
| Molar mass | 69.003 g·mol−1 |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Production
Cyanophosphaethyne can be produced by heating cyanogen azide and phosphaethyne gases to 700 °C:[4]
- N≡C–N3 + H–C≡P → N≡C–C≡P + HN3
Another method is to heat anhydrous methyl cyanide with anhydrous phosphorus trichloride:[5]
- N≡C–CH3 + PCl3 → N≡C–C≡P + 3HCl
Properties
The dipole moment is 3.5 Debye.[4] Having a large dipole makes the molecule easier to detect by certain types of spectroscopy than many other phosphorus containing molecules.[4] The bond lengths are C≡N = 1.159 Å, C–C = 1.378 Å, and C≡P = 1.544 Å.[4]