Titanium(III) phosphide explained

Titanium(III) phosphide (TiP) is an inorganic chemical compound of titanium and phosphorus. Normally encountered as a grey powder, it is a metallic conductor with a high melting point.^[1] It is not attacked by common acids or water. Its physical properties stand in contrast to the group 1 and group 2 phosphides that contain the P^3− anion (such as Na₃P), which are not metallic and are readily hydrolysed. Titanium phosphide is classified as a "metal-rich phosphide", where extra valence electrons from the metal are delocalised.

Titanium phosphide can be prepared by the reaction of TiCl₄ and PH₃.

There are other titanium phosphide phases, including Ti₃P,^[2] Ti₂P,^[3] Ti₇P₄,^[4] Ti₅P₃,^[5] and Ti₄P₃.^[6]

Titanium phosphide should not be confused with titanium phosphate or titanium isopropoxide, both of which are sometimes known by the acronym TIP.

Notes and References

1. H.G. Von Schnering, W. Hönle Phosphides - Solid state chemistry Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry Ed. R. Bruce King (1994) John Wiley & Sons
2. Hydrogen absorption in Ti₃P Halter U., Mrowietz M., Weiss A Journal of the less-common metals 1986 118 343-348
3. Structure of Ti₂P solved by three-dimensional electron diffraction data collected with the precession technique and high-resolution electron microscopy M. Gemmi, X. D. Zou, S. Hovmöller, A. Migliori, M. Vennström and Y. Andersson Acta Crystallogr. (2003). A59, 117-126
4. New Phases in the Ti-P and Ti-Cu-P Systems, Carrillo C W., Lundström T Acta Chem.Scand., Series A: (1979), 33, 401-402
5. Crystal Structure Refinement of Ti₅P₃ Carrillo C W., Lundström T Acta Chemica Scandinavica, Series A: Physical and Inorganic Chemistry 1980 34 415-419
6. Phase Relationships in the Ti-P System with some Notes on the Crystal Structures of TiP₂ and ZrP₂, Snell P.O, Acta Chem. Scand. 1968 22 1942-1952