Phosphoryl fluoride

Phosphoryl fluoride (also called phosphorus oxyfluoride) is a compound with the chemical formula POF₃. It is a colorless gas that is hydrolyzed in aqueous solution, passing through difluorophosphate and monofluorophosphate to give ultimately orthophosphate.

Phosphorus oxyfluoride is prepared by partial hydrolysis of phosphorus pentafluoride.

Phosphorus oxyfluoride is the progenitor of the simple fluorophosphoric acids by hydrolysis. The sequence starts with difluorophosphoric acid:

The next steps give monofluorophosphoric acid and phosphoric acid:

Phosphoryl fluoride combines with dimethylamine to produce dimethylaminophosphoryl difluoride (H₃C−)₂N−P(=O)F₂ and difluorophosphate and hexafluorophosphate ions (as dimethylammonium salts). The tendency of phosphoryl fluoride toward disproportionation into those ions is not, of course, paralleled by the chloride.