Cyclotriphosphazene: A Versatile Building Block for Diverse Functional Materials

• Published in: Chemistry, an Asian journal an Asian journal, 2024-09, Vol.19 (17), p.e202400357-n/a
• Main Authors: Lee, Johnathan Joo Cheng, Chua, Ming Hui, Wang, Suxi, Qu, Zhengyao, Zhu, Qiang, Xu, Jianwei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical materials; Chemical bonds; Chemical reactions; Chemical sensors; Chemical synthesis; Chemoreceptors; Chlorine; Cyclic inorganic compounds; Cyclotriphosphazene; Fire Retardant; Flame retardants; Functional Material; Functional materials; Inorganic compounds; Liquid Crystals; Lubricant; Optoelectronics; Substitution reactions
• ISSN: 1861-4728; 1861-471X; 1861-471X
• DOI: 10.1002/asia.202400357

Cyclotriphosphazene (CP) is a cyclic inorganic compound with the chemical formula N3P3. This unique molecule consists of a six‐membered ring composed of alternating nitrogen and phosphorus atoms, each bonded to two chlorine atoms. CP exhibits remarkable versatility and significance in the realm of materials chemistry due to its easy functionalization via facile nucleophilic substitution reactions in mild conditions as well as intriguing properties of resultant final CP‐based molecules or polymers. CP has been served as an important building block for numerous functional materials. This review provides a general and broad overview of the synthesis of CP‐based small molecules through nucleophilic substitution of hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HCCP), and their applications, including flame retardants, liquid crystals (LC), chemosensors, electronics, biomedical materials, and lubricants, have been summarized and discussed. It would be expected that this review would offer a timely summary of various CP‐based materials and hence give an insight into further exploration of CP‐based molecules in the future. This review provides a broad general overview into the synthesis of cyclotriphosphazine (CP)‐based small molecules and their applications in mainly flame retardants, liquid crystals (LC), chemosensors, optoelectronics, biomedical materials, and lubricants, have been summarized and discussed. This review will also explore the relationship between the structure and function of various CP‐based materials, providing insights into their property testing.