PHOSPHONITRILIC COMPOUNDS: PART I. THE MECHANISM OF PHOSPHONITRILIC CHLORIDE POLYMERIZATION CAPACITANCE, CONDUCTANCE, AND ELECTRON-SPIN RESONANCE STUDIES

Abstract

Capacitance and conductance measurements were carried out with molten (NPCl2)3 and [NP(OC6H5)2]3 and dipole moments were determined in benzene solution. Attempts to detect free radicals in molten samples of the same compounds were unsuccessful. Evidence was obtained that homolytic or heterolytic phosphorus–nitrogen ring cleavage is not involved in the primary initiation process. The results favor, instead, a polymerization mechanism for (NPCl2)3 in which phosphorus–chlorine ionization is a preliminary step.