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Triphenylmethane

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Triphenylmethane
Names
IUPAC name Triphenylmethane
Other names 1,1',1"-Methylidynetrisbenzene
Identifiers
CAS Number
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.007.524 Edit this at Wikidata
EC Number
  • 208-275-0
PubChem CID
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
InChI
  • InChI=1S/C19H16/c1-4-10-16(11-5-1)19(17-12-6-2-7-13-17)18-14-8-3-9-15-18/h1-15,19HKey: AAAQKTZKLRYKHR-UHFFFAOYSA-N
  • InChI=1/C19H16/c1-4-10-16(11-5-1)19(17-12-6-2-7-13-17)18-14-8-3-9-15-18/h1-15,19HKey: AAAQKTZKLRYKHR-UHFFFAOYAF
SMILES
  • c1c(cccc1)C(c2ccccc2)c3ccccc3
Properties
Chemical formula C19H16
Molar mass 244.33 g/mol
Density 1.014 g/cm
Melting point 92-94 °C
Boiling point 359 °C
Solubility in water insoluble
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C , 100 kPa). checkverify (what is  ?) Infobox references
Chemical compound

Triphenylmethane, or triphenyl methane, is the hydrocarbon with the formula (C6H5)3CH. This colorless solid is soluble in nonpolar organic solvents and not in water. Triphenylmethane has the basic skeleton of many synthetic dyes called triarylmethane dyes, many of them are pH indicators, and some display fluorescence. A trityl group in organic chemistry is a triphenylmethyl group Ph3C, e.g. triphenylmethyl chloride — trityl chloride.

Preparation

Triphenylmethane can be synthesized by Friedel-Crafts reaction from benzene and chloroform with aluminium chloride catalyst:

3 C6H6 + CHCl3 → Ph3CH + 3 HCl

Alternatively, benzene may react with carbon tetrachloride using the same catalyst to obtain the trityl chloride-aluminium chloride adduct, which is hydrolyzed with dilute acid:

3 C6H6 + CCl4 + AlCl3 → Ph3CCl·AlCl3
Ph3CCl·AlCl3 + HCl → Ph3CH

Synthesis from benzylidene chloride, prepared from benzaldehyde and phosphorus pentachloride, is used as well.

Acidity

The pKa of the hydrogen on the central carbon is around 31. Triphenylmethane is significantly more acidic than most other hydrocarbons because the planar trityl anion is stabilized by extensive delocalization over three phenyl rings. However, delocalization does not occur simultaneously over all phenyl rings, due to sterics: each phenyl ring forces the other two out of coplanarity to form a three-vaned fan, such that delocalization only occurs if the sp orbital of the anionic carbon is properly aligned with one of the aromatic systems. The trityl anion absorbs strongly in the visible region, making it red. This colour can be used as an indicator when maintaining anhydrous conditions with calcium hydride; the hydride reagent reacts with water to form solid calcium hydroxide, while it is also a strong enough base to generate the trityl anion. If the hydride is used up then the solution will turn colourless. The sodium salt can be prepared also from the chloride:

(C6H5)3CCl + 2 Na → (C6H5)3CNa + NaCl

Before the popularization of butyllithium and related strong bases, trityl sodium was often used as a strong, non-nucleophilic base.

Triarylmethane dyes

Main article: Triarylmethane dye

Examples of triarylmethane dyes are bromocresol green:

Bromocresol green

or malachite green:

Malachite green

References

  1. J. F. Norris (1941). "Triphenylmethane". Organic Syntheses; Collected Volumes, vol. 1, p. 548.
  2. W. B. Renfrow Jr and C. R. Hauser (1943). "Triphenylmethylsodium". Organic Syntheses; Collected Volumes, vol. 2, p. 607.
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