Gas phase reaction of phosphorus trichloride and methanol: Matrix isolation infrared and DFT studies

•Gas phase reaction of phosphorus trichloride and methanol was carried out.•Products of the reaction were identified using matrix isolation infrared spectroscopy.•Dichloro methyl phosphite and methyl chloride were the products formed in the reaction.•DFT computations were carried out to corroborate the experimental results.

Gas phase reaction of phosphorus trichloride (PCl3) and methanol (CH3OH) was carried out with different ratios of PCl3:CH3OH:N2 (1:1:1000, 1:2:1000 and 1:3:1000) and the products were identified using matrix isolation infrared spectroscopy. For the 1:1 and 1:2 ratios of PCl3:CH3OH, dichloro methyl phosphite (DCMP) and methyl chloride (CH3Cl) were the products formed. Interestingly, only methyl chloride (CH3Cl) was observed for the 1:3 ratio of PCl3:CH3OH. DFT computations were carried out at B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory to give insights into the formation of the reaction products. Based on the experimental findings and computations a reaction mechanism has been proposed through a nucleophilic substitution reaction to explain the formation of the products.

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