Domino Effect in the Buildup of N-I-N-I Chains of theN-Iodine(triphenylphosphane)imine

Up to the tetramer can be formed in a stepwise manner by an ionic domino mechanism by adding varying amounts of iodine to N-iodine(triphenylphosphane)imine, INPPh3, which does not exhibit intermolecular N⋅⋅⋅I contacts in the crystalline state. The tetramer [I(INPPh3)4]+I3− with alternatingly long N-I-N-I bonds (see picture) is possibly not the last member of this series of new N-I-N associates.