Phosphorus–Nitrogen CompoundsBased in part on the article Phosphorus–Nitrogen Compounds by Robert H. Neilson which appeared in theEncyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry, First Edition.

Abstract

Phosphorus displays several oxidation states (+II, +III , +IV, and +V ) and coordination numbers (from one to six), and with nitrogen (also two‐, three‐, and four‐coordinate) can form a broad variety of compounds (purely inorganic or organo‐ N ‐ or ‐ P ‐substituted). In addition to mononuclear PN compounds, many short‐chain, polymeric, and cyclic compounds based on molecular skeletons formed by PN alternation are known. There are numerous classes of phosphorus–nitrogen compounds, and this article makes an attempt to introduce the most important ones in the limited space available by selecting what seem to be the most illustrative examples from a very rich chapter of chemistry.