Phosphorus trihalides formulae

Several mixed halide compounds are known that have formulas such as PCI3F2, PF3C12, and PF3Br2. These compounds are prepared by adding a halogen to phosphorus trihalides that contain a different halogen, and a typical reaction is... 

The unsaturated character of these trialkyl esters was shown by the ease with which they were attacked by nitric acid, but still more clearly by the formation, with evolution of heat, of stable crystalline addition compounds when they were mixed with cuprous halides. Thus CuC1.P(OC2H5)3 was described as consisting of colourless crystals melting at 190° to 192° C. and soluble in organic solvents.4 This property they share with phosphine, alkylphosphines and phosphorus trihalides. The phosphoric esters were quite indifferent to cuprous halides. Nor were such addition compounds formed either by phosphorous acid itself or by the dialkyl esters, which may show that the latter compounds have the unsymmetrical formula. Phosphorous acid probably exists in both forms, but first as P(OH)3, i.e. when produced from PC13 and Ha0.5 This may be transformed into the unsym-metrieal form through an addition compound HC1.P(0H)3,4 and probably also exists in the form of complex molecules, such as... 

A still unresolved problem is the structure of the often used adducts from phosphorus trihalides and carboxylic acid amides, which might be described by the formulae (8) or (9). With the aid of in situ generated adducts of acid amides and PX3 amidines, isonitriles, quinazolinones, alkyl chlorides, aminomethylenediphosphonic acids, carbamoyl halides, triformylaminomethane, 1,3,4-oxadia-zoles, sulfides (from sulfoxides), nitriles (from primary nitro compounds)" and bromoqui-nolines (from methoxyquinolines)" have been prepared. 

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