Evidence for Phosphorus Bonding in Phosphorus Trichloride–Methanol Adduct: A Matrix Isolation Infrared and ab Initio Computational Study

The weak interaction between PCl3 and CH3OH was investigated using matrix isolation infrared spectroscopy and ab initio computations. In a nitrogen matrix at low temperature, the noncovalent adduct was generated and characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Computations were performed at B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p), B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ, and MP2/6-311++G(d,p) levels of theory to optimize the possible geometries of PCl3-CH3OH adducts. Computations revealed two minima on the potential energy surface, of which, the global minimum is stabilized by a noncovalent P···O interaction, known as a pnictogen bonding (phosphorus bonding or P-bonding). The local minimum corresponded to a cyclic adduct, stabilized by the conventional hydrogen bonding (Cl···H-O and Cl···H-C interactions). Experimentally, 1:1 P-bonded PCl3-CH3OH adduct in nitrogen matrix was identified, where shifts in the P-Cl modes of PCl3, O-C, and O-H modes of CH3OH submolecules were observed. The observed vibrational frequencies of the P-bonded adduct in a nitrogen matrix agreed well with the computed frequencies. Furthermore, computations also predicted that the P-bonded adduct is stronger than H-bonded adduct by ∼1.56 kcal/mol. Atoms in molecules and natural bond orbital analyses were performed to understand the nature of interactions and effect of charge transfer interaction on the stability of the adducts.