Phosphorus trifluorodichloride is a

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

with the

chemical formula In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, ...

PF₃Cl₂. The

covalent A covalent bond is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electrons to form electron pairs between atoms. These electron pairs are known as shared pairs or bonding pairs. The stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms ...

molecule

trigonal bipyramidal molecular geometry In chemistry, a trigonal bipyramid formation is a molecular geometry with one atom at the center and 5 more atoms at the corners of a triangular bipyramid. This is one geometry for which the bond angles surrounding the central atom are not iden ...

. The central phosphorus atom has sp³d hybridization, and the molecule has an asymmetric charge distribution. It appears as a colorless

gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...

with a disagreeable odor which turns to a

liquid A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, a ...

at -8 °C. Phosphorus trifluorodichloride is formed by mixing

phosphorus trifluoride Phosphorus trifluoride (formula P F3), is a colorless and odorless gas. It is highly toxic and reacts slowly with water. Its main use is as a ligand in metal complexes. As a ligand, it parallels carbon monoxide in metal carbonyls, and indeed ...

with chlorine PF₃ + Cl₂ → PF₃Cl₂ The P-F bond length is 1.546 Å for equatoria position and 1.593 for the axial position and the P-Cl bond length is 2.004 Å. The chlorine atoms are in equatorial positions in the molecule.

References

Phosphorus(V) compounds Fluorine compounds Chlorine(−I) compounds Gases {{Chemistry-stub