Transition metal dithiophosphate complexes are
coordination compound
A coordination complex consists of a central atom or ion, which is usually metallic and is called the ''coordination centre'', and a surrounding array of bound molecules or ions, that are in turn known as ''ligands'' or complexing agents. Many ...
s containing dithiophosphate
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 ...
s, i.e. ligands of the formula (RO)
2PS. The homoleptic complexes have formulas M
2P(OR)2sub>2 and M
2P(OR)2sub>3. These neutral complexes tend to be soluble in organic solvents, especially when R is branched.
Perhaps the most important members are
zinc dialkyldithiophosphates, which are
oil additive
Oil additives are chemical compounds that improve the lubricant performance of base oil (or oil "base stock"). The manufacturer of many different oils can utilize the same base stock for each formulation and can choose different additives for each ...
s. Such compounds are prepared by the reaction of
dialkoxydithiophoric acid with metal oxides, chlorides, and acetates.
[David E. Coldbery, W. Conard Fernelius, Maurice Shamma, "Chromium(III) O,O′-Diethyl Dithiophosphate" Inorganic Syntheses, 1960 volume 6, pp. 142–143. {{doi, 10.1002/9780470132371.ch44]
References
Phosphorothioates