Tetrakis(chloromethyl)phosphonium chloride monohydrate

Tetrakis­(chloro­methyl)­phospho­nium chloride monohydrate, C₄H₈Cl₄P⁺·Cl^?·H₂O or P(CH₂Cl)₄⁺·Cl^?·H₂O, is the first crystal structure determination of a tetrakis­(halogeno­methyl)­phospho­nium compound to date. The only comparable structures known so far are of phospho­nium ions containing just one halogeno­methyl group. The solvent water mol­ecule interacts with the Cl^? anion via hydrogen bonds, with O?Cl distances of 3.230 (2) and 3.309 (2) Å. The structure also contains several C—H?Cl^? and C—H?O contacts, though with longer D?A distances [D?A 3.286 (3)–3.662 (2) Å] or bent D—H?A angles. For these reasons, the C—H?Cl^? and C—H?O interactions should not be considered as strong hydrogen bonds.