Experimental and Theoretical Conformational Analysis of Tris(4-methylphenyl)phosphine and Its Chalcogenides

Conformational analysis of tris(4-methylphenyl)phosphine and its oxide, sulfide, and selenide has been performed by the dipole moment method and DFT quantum chemical calculations at the B3PW91/ 6-311++G(df,p) level of theory. The title compounds have been found to exist in solution as a single symmetrical conformer with gauche,gauche,gauche orientation of the substituents on the phosphorus atom with respect to the P=X bond (X = LEP, O, S, Se).