Halogen-bonded cocrystallization with phosphorus, arsenic and antimony acceptors.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30610194.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-07957-6 and PMC identifier 6320372.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The formation of non-covalent directional interactions, such as hydrogen or halogen bonds, is a central concept of materials design, which hinges on using small compact atoms of the 2nd period, notably nitrogen and oxygen, as acceptors. Heavier atoms are much less prominent in that context, and mostly limited to sulfur. Here, we report the experimental observation and theoretical study of halogen bonds to phosphorus, arsenic and antimony in the solid state. Combining 1,3,5-trifluoro-2,4,6-triiodobenzene with triphenylphosphine, -arsine, and -stibine provides cocrystals based on I···P, I···As and I···Sb halogen bonds. The demonstration that increasingly metallic pnictogens form halogen bonds sufficiently strong to enable cocrystal formation is an advance in supramolecular chemistry which opens up opportunities in materials science, as shown by colossal thermal expansion of the cocrystal involving I···Sb halogen bonds.