Tricyclohexylphosphine is the
tertiary phosphine
Phosphine (IUPAC name: phosphane) is a colorless, flammable, highly toxic compound with the chemical formula , classed as a pnictogen hydride. Pure phosphine is odorless, but technical grade samples have a highly unpleasant odor like rotting ...
with the formula P(
C6H11)
3. Commonly used as a
ligand
In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule (functional group) that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding with the metal generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's electr ...
in
organometallic chemistry
Organometallic chemistry is the study of organometallic compounds, chemical compounds containing at least one chemical bond between a carbon atom of an organic molecule and a metal, including alkali, alkaline earth, and transition metals, and so ...
, it is often abbreviated to PCy
3, where Cy stands for
cyclohexyl
Cyclohexane is a cycloalkane with the molecular formula . Cyclohexane is non-polar. Cyclohexane is a colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive detergent-like odor, reminiscent of cleaning products (in which it is sometimes used). Cyclohexan ...
. It is characterized by both high basicity (p''K''
a = 9.7) and a large
ligand cone angle
In coordination chemistry, the ligand cone angle (a common example being the Tolman cone angle or ''θ'') is a measure of the steric bulk of a ligand in a transition metal coordination complex. It is defined as the solid angle formed with the me ...
(170°).
[{{cite journal , last1 = Immirzi , first1 = A. , last2 = Musco , first2 = A. , title = A Method to Measure the Size of Phosphorus Ligands in Coordination Complexes , doi = 10.1016/S0020-1693(00)95635-4 , year = 1977 , journal = Inorg. Chim. Acta , volume = 25 , pages = L41–42]
Important complexes containing P(Cy)
3 ligands include the
2005 Nobel Prize-winning
Grubbs' catalyst
Grubbs catalysts are a series of transition metal carbene complexes used as catalysts for olefin metathesis. They are named after Robert H. Grubbs, the chemist who supervised their synthesis. Several generations of the catalyst have been develo ...
and the
homogeneous
Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, siz ...
hydrogenation
Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen (H2) and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a Catalysis, catalyst such as nickel, palladium or platinum. The process is commonly employed to redox, reduce or S ...
catalyst
.
Image:Grubbs_Catalyst_1st_Generation.svg, Grubbs' catalyst (first generation)
Image:Crabtree.png, Crabtree's catalyst
References
Tertiary phosphines
Cyclohexyl compounds