A Simple and Versatile Approach for the Low-Temperature Synthesis of Transition Metal Phosphide Nanoparticles from Metal Chloride Complexes and P(SiMe 3 ) 3 .

Metal chloride complexes react with tris(trimethylsilyl)phosphine under mild condition to produce metal phosphide nanoparticles, and chlorotrimethylsilane as a byproduct. The formation of Si-Cl bonds that are stronger than the starting M-Cl bonds acts as a driving force for the reaction. The potential of this strategy is illustrated through the preparation of ruthenium phosphide nanoparticles using [RuCl 2 (cymene)] and tris(trimethylsilyl)phosphine at 35°C. Characterization with a combination of techniques including electron microscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and solid-state NMR spectroscopy, evidences the formation of small (diameter of 1.3 nm) and amorphous NPs with an overall Ru 50 P 50 composition. Interestingly, these NPs can be easily immobilized on functional support materials, which is of great interest for potential applications in catalysis and electrocatalysis. Mo 50 P 50 and Co 50 P 50 NPs could also be synthesized following the same strategy. This approach is simple and versatile and paves the way toward the preparation of a wide range of transition metal phosphide nanoparticles under mild reaction conditions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.