PHOSPHORUS
| Academic Decathlon | Adult School | Baseball | Chemistry Topics |
| Chemical Compounds | Interests | Numbers | Periodic Table |
| Physics | Reference | Sports | Students |
|
|
PHOSPHORUS |
|
| Do You Need Help in Chemistry? |
|
Introduction |
|
| Atomic Number: | 15 | Group: | 15 or V A | 15 | 30.973761 |
| Average Atomic Mass: | 30.973761 | Period: | 3 |
P |
|
|
CAS Number: |
7723-14-0 | ||||
| Phosphorus | |||||
|
|
Classification |
|
| Metal | Nonmetal | Metalloid | ||
| Alkali Metal | Alkali Earth Metal | Transition Metal | Chalcogen | Halogen |
| Noble Gas | Lanthanoid | Actinoid |
Rare Earth Metal |
|
| Transuranium | No Stable Isotopes | |||
| Solid | Liquid | Gas |
Assumed Solid |
|
|
Description |
|
| Discovered in 1669 by Brand, who prepared it from urine. Phosphorus exists in four or more allotropic forms: white (or yellow), red, and black (or violet). White phosphorus has two modifications: alpha and beta with a transition temperature at –3.8°C. Never found free in nature, it is widely distributed in combination with minerals. Seventeen isotopes of phosphorus are recognized. Phosphate rock, which contains the mineral apatite, an impure tri-calcium phosphate, is an important source of the element. Large deposits are found in the U.S.S.R., in Morocco, and in Florida, Tennessee, Utah, Idaho, and elsewhere. Phosphorus in an essential ingredient of all cell protoplasm, nervous tissue, and bones. Ordinary phosphorus is a waxy white solid; when pure it is colorless and transparent. It is insoluble in water, but soluble in carbon disulfide. It takes fire spontaneously in air, burning to the pentoxide. It is very poisonous, 50 mg constituting an approximate fatal dose. Exposure to white phosphorus should not exceed 0.1 mg/m^3 (8-hour time-weighted average — 40-hour work week). White phosphorus should be kept under water, as it is dangerously reactive in air, and it should be handled with forceps, as contact with the skin may cause severe burns. When exposed to sunlight or when heated in its own vapor to 250°C, it is converted to the red variety, which does not phosphoresce in air as does the white variety. This form does not ignite spontaneously and it is not as dangerous as white phosphorus. It should, however, be handled with care as it does convert to the white form at some temperatures and it emits highly toxic fumes of the oxides of phosphorus when heated. The red modification is fairly stable, sublimes with a vapor pressure of 1 atm at 417°C,and is used in the manufacture of safety matches, pyrotechnics, pesticides, incendiary shells, smoke bombs, tracer bullets, etc. White phosphorus may be made by several methods. By one process, tri-calcium phosphate, the essential ingredient of phosphate rock, is heated in the presence of carbon and silica in an electric furnace or fuel-fired furnace. Elementary phosphorus is liberated as vapor and may be collected under water. If desired, the phosphorus vapor and carbon monoxide produced by the reaction can be oxidized at once in the presence of moisture to produce phosphoric acid, an important compound in making super-phosphate fertilizers. In recent years, concentrated phosphoric acids, which may contain as much as 70 to 75% P2O5 content, have become of great importance to agriculture and farm production. World-wide demand for fertilizers has caused record phosphate production. Phosphates are used in the production of special glasses, such as those used for sodium lamps. Bone-ash, calcium phosphate, is also used to produce fine chinaware and to produce mono-calcium phosphate used in baking powder. Phosphorus is also important in the production of steels, phosphor bronze, and many other products. Trisodium phosphate is important as a cleaning agent, as a water softener, and for preventing boiler scale and corrosion of pipes and boiler tubes. Organic compounds of phosphorus are important. Amorphous (red) phosphorus costs about $60/kg (99.5%). 1 |
|
|
Physical Properties |
|
| Form: | red 2 | ||
| Normal Melting Point: | Normal Boiling Point: | ||
| Sublimation Point: | 721 °C = 994.15 K = 1329.8 °F 2 | Triple Point: | 431 °C = 704.15 K = 807.8 °F 2 |
| Critical Point: | 590 °C = 863.15 K = 1094 °F 2 | ||
| Form: | white 2 | ||
| Normal Melting Point: | 44.15 °C = 317.3 K = 111.47 °F 2 | Normal Boiling Point: | 280.5 °C = 553.65 K = 536.9 °F 2 |
| Sublimation Point: | 721 °C = 994.15 K = 1329.8 °F 2 | Triple Point: | |
| Critical Point: | |||
| Form: | black 2 | ||
| Normal Melting Point: | 610 °C = 883.15 K = 1130 °F 2 | Normal Boiling Point: | |
| Sublimation Point: | Triple Point: | ||
| Critical Point: | |||
| Density: | 1.82 g/cm3 | Crystal Structure: | monoclinic |
| Atomic Radius: | 1.23 Ǻ = 123 pm | Covalent Radius: | 1.06 Ǻ = 106 pm |
| Ionic Radius: | 0 Ǻ = 0 pm | Atomic Volume: | 17 cm3/mol |
| Qualitative Solubility: | i (P4 red) 3 | ||
| Note: Unless otherwise stated, solubility is for water at 25 degrees Celsius. | |||
|
|
Electron Configuration and Bonding |
|
| Predicted Electron Configuration: | [Ne] 3s2 3p3 |
Lewis Dot Diagram |
||||||
| Actual Electron Configuration: | [Ne] 3s2 3p3 |
x |
x |
|||||
| Block: | p | P |
x |
|||||
| Highest Occupied Energy Level: | 3 |
x |
||||||
| Valence Electrons: | 5 |
x |
||||||
| Quantum Numbers: | n = 3 | ℓ = 1 | mℓ = 1 | ms = +½ | ||||
| Please note that information in this section can be derived entirely from the periodic table. Although most people do not discuss valence electrons of the d-block and f-block elements, on this page the number of electrons in the highest energy level of the actual electron configuration was used to determine valence electrons. | ||||||||
| Electronegativity (Pauling): | 2.19 | Electropositivity (Pauling): | 1.81 | ||||
| Electron Affinity: | 0.75 eV = 72.36 kJ/mol = 17.29 kcal/mol | Oxidation States: | -3 | ||||
| Ionization Potential 4 | eV | kJ/mol | Ionization Potential 4 | eV | kJ/mol | ||
| 1 | 10.48669 | 1011.8 | 9 | 372.13 | 35905.1 | ||
| 2 | 19.7694 | 1907.5 | 10 | 424.4 | 40948.4 | ||
| 3 | 30.2027 | 2914.1 | 11 | 479.46 | 46260.8 | ||
| 4 | 51.4439 | 4963.6 | 12 | 560.8 | 54109.0 | ||
| 5 | 65.0251 | 6274.0 | 13 | 611.74 | 59023.9 | ||
| 6 | 220.421 | 21267.4 | 14 | 2816.91 | 271790.4 | ||
| 7 | 263.57 | 25430.6 | 15 | 3069.842 | 296194.7 | ||
| 8 | 309.6 | 29871.9 | |||||
| Note: Only the electronvolt values are given in the CRC Handbook, a conversion factor was used to find the kJ/mol value. | |||||||
|
|
Thermochemistry |
|
| Specific Heat: | 0.77 J/g°C = 0.184 cal/g°C | Thermal Conductivity: | 0.235 (W/m)/K, 27ºC | ||||
| Heat of Fusion: | 0.657 kJ/mol = 21.2 J/g | Heat of Vaporization: | 12.129 kJ/mol = 391.6 J/g | ||||
| State of Matter | Enthalpy of Formation | Entropy of Formation | Gibbs Free Energy | ||||
| (kcal/mol) | (kJ/mol) | (cal/K) | (J/K) | (kcal/mol) | (kJ/mol) | ||
| (s red V) | 0 | 0 | 5.45 | 22.8028 | 0 | 0 | |
| (l red V) | 4.32 | 18.07488 | 10.25 | 42.886 | 2.89 | 12.09176 | |
| (g red V) | 79.80 | 333.8832 | 38.98 | 163.09232 | 69.80 | 292.0432 | |
| (s alpha white) | 4.17 | 17.44728 | 9.82 | 41.08688 | 2.87 | 12.00808 | |
|
|
Video |
|
| Video on phosphorus from the University of Nottingham's periodicvideos.com | |
| The synthesis reaction between phosphorus and chlorine produces the liquid phosphorus trichloride. | |
| The synthesis reaction between phosphorus and oxygen. | |
|
|
Isotopes |
|
| Nuclide | Mass | Half-Life | Nuclear Spin | Binding Energy (kJ/mol) |
| 24P | 24.03435(54)# | (1+)# | 14026127818.9003 | |
| 25P | 25.02026(21)# | <30 ns | (1/2+)# | 16063876084.9975 |
| 26P | 26.01178(21)# | 43.7(6) ms | (3+) | 17652218165.084 |
| 27P | 26.999230(28) | 260(80) ms | 1/2+ | 19510203956.7769 |
| 28P | 27.992315(4) | 270.3(5) ms | 3+ | 20918783562.4589 |
| 29P | 28.9818006(6) | 4.142(15) s | 1/2+ | 22686888116.9493 |
| 30P | 29.9783138(3) | 2.498(4) min | 1+ | 23735942773.8227 |
| 31P | 30.97376163(20) | STABLE | 1/2+ | 24964759905.1011 |
| 32P | 31.97390727(20) | 14.263(3) d | 1+ | 25744170850.368 |
| 33P | 32.9717255(12) | 25.34(12) d | 1/2+ | 26703344270.0402 |
| 34P | 33.973636(5) | 12.43(8) s | 1+ | 27302992740.9026 |
| 35P | 34.9733141(20) | 47.3(7) s | 1/2+ | 28082403686.1702 |
| 36P | 35.978260(14) | 5.6(3) s | 4-# | 28412408445.4262 |
| 37P | 36.97961(4) | 2.31(13) s | 1/2+# | 29101938153.4912 |
| 38P | 37.98416(11) | 0.64(14) s | 29431942912.7478 | |
| 39P | 38.98618(11) | 190(50) ms | 1/2+# | 30031591383.6115 |
| 40P | 39.99130(15) | 153(8) ms | (2-,3-) | 30361596142.8674 |
| 41P | 40.99434(23) | 100(5) ms | 1/2+# | 30871363376.5279 |
| 42P | 42.00101(48) | 48.5(15) ms | 31021605661.3799 | |
| 43P | 43.00619(104) | 36.5(15) ms | 1/2+# | 31351610420.6371 |
| 44P | 44.01299(75)# | 18.5(25) ms | 31591733942.6918 | |
| 45P | 45.01922(86)# | 8# ms [>200 ns] | 1/2+# | 31741976227.5438 |
| 46P | 46.02738(97)# | 4# ms [>200 ns] | 31802337275.1932 | |
| Values marked # are not purely derived from experimental data, but at least partly from systematic trends. Spins with weak assignment arguments are enclosed in parentheses. 5 | ||||
|
|
Reactions |
|
| The reaction of red phosphorus and bromine is a direct combination of the elements. |
| In limited quantities of chlorine, phosphorus reacts to give phosphorus trichloride, a colorless liquid. |
| When chlorine is present in large amounts, phosphorus reacts to give phosphorus pentachloride, a white, crystalline substance. |
|
|
Abundance |
|
| Earth: | Source Compounds: | phosphates 6 |
| Earth: | Ocean Water: | 0.06 mg/L 7 |
| Earth: | Crust: | 1050 mg/kg = 0.105% 7 |
| Earth: | Lithosphere: | 0.11% 8 |
| Earth: | Total: | 1920 ppm 9 |
| Mercury: | Total: | 390 ppm 9 |
| Venus: | Total: | 1860 ppm 9 |
| Human Body: | Total: | 1.1% 10 |
|
|
Compounds |
|
|
|
Safety |
|
| Note: Not every link below has an entry for every element on the periodic table. Sites were selected based on those that had a large number of element and compound entries. |
| Scorecard's Pollution Information − not an MSDS, but it does provide basic information (among other things) on human heath hazards and industrial uses. |
| Although not truly an MSDS, Oxford University's Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory does provide some basic information. |
| Iowa State University |
| ESPI Metals |
|
|
Languages |
|
| Afrikaans: | Fosfor | Albanian: | Fosfor | Armenian: | Ֆոսֆոր | Arabic: | فوسفور |
| Aromanian: | Fosforu | Basque: | Fosforoa | Bosnian: | Fosfor | Breton: | Fosfor |
| Bulgarian: | Фосфор | Byelorussian: | Фосфар | Catalan: | Fòsfor | Chinese: | 磷 |
| Cornish: | Fosforus | Croatian: | Fosfor | Czech: | Fosfor (Kostík †) | Danish: | Phosphor or Fosfor |
| Dutch: | Fosfor | Esperanto: | Fosforo | Estonian: | Fosfor | Faroese: | Fosfor |
| Finnish: | Fosfori | French: | Phosphore | Friulian: | Fosfar | Frisian: | Fosfor |
| Galician: | Fósforo | Georgian: | ფოსფორი | German: | Phosphor | Greek: | Φωσφορος |
| Hebrew: | זרחן | Hungarian: | Foszfor | Icelandic: | Fosfór | Irish Gaelic: | Fosfar |
| Italian: | Fosforo | Japanese: | リン | Kashubian: | Fòsfòr | Kazakh: | Фосфор |
| Korean: | 인 | Latvian: | Fosfors | Lithuanian: | Fosforas | Luxembourgish: | Phosphor |
| Macedonian: | Фосфор | Malay: | Fosforus, Posfor | Maltese: | Fosfru | Manx Gaelic: | Fosfaar |
| Mokshan: | Паликандур | Mongolian: | Фосфор, Сүүмэг | Norwegian: | Fosfor | Occitan: | Fosfòr |
| Ossetian: | Фосфор | Polish: | Fosfor | Portuguese: | Fósforo | Russian: | Фосфор |
| Scottish Gaelic: | Fosfaras | Serbian: | Фосфор | Slovak: | Fosfor | Spanish: | Fósforo |
| Sudovian: | Fasfaras | Swahili: | Posfori | Swedish: | Fosfor | Tajik: | Fosfor |
| Thai: | ฟอสฟอรัส | Turkish: | Fosfor | Ukranian: | Фосфор | Uzbek: | Фосфор |
| Vietnamese: | Photpho | Welsh: | Ffósfforws |
|
|
For More Information |
|
| From Online Periodic Tables: | |
| About.com | American Elements |
| Chemical & Engineering News | Chemical Elements |
| ChemGlobe | Chemicool |
| Environmental Chemistry | Eni Generalic |
| HyperPhysics from Georgia State University's Department of Physics and Astronomy | InfoPlease |
| Lenntech | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Physics Department of the University of Coimbra | Qivx Inc. |
| Royal Society of Chemistry's Visual Elements | Schenectady County Community College |
| Thomas Jefferson Lab National Accelerator Facility | WebElements |
| Wikipedia | X-ray properties: Carlo Segre from Illinois Institute of Technology |
| Articles: | |
| (1) Tweed, Katherine. Sewage's Cash Crop. Scientific American, November 2009, pp 28. | |
| (2) Vaccari, David A. Phosphorus: A Looming Crisis. Scientific American, June 2009, pp 54-59. | |
|
|
Sources |
|
| (1) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4-22. |
| (2) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 4-132. |
| (3) - Dean, John A. Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, 11th ed.; McGraw-Hill Book Company: New York, NY, 1973; p 4-8 - 4-149. |
| (4) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 10-178 - 10-180. |
| (5) - Atomic Mass Data Center. http://amdc.in2p3.fr/web/nubase_en.html (accessed July 14, 2009). |
| (6) - Silberberg, Martin S. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change, 4th ed.; McGraw-Hill Higher Education: Boston, MA, 2006, p 965. |
| (7) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 14-17. |
| (8) - Silberberg, Martin S. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change, 4th ed.; McGraw-Hill Higher Education: Boston, MA, 2006, p 962. |
| (9) - Silberberg, Martin S. Chemistry: The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change, 4th ed.; McGraw-Hill Higher Education: Boston, MA, 2006, p 964. |
| (10) - Lide, David R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 83rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2002; p 7-17. |
|
|
PHOSPHORUS |
|
| Site designed and maintained by Mr. Everett. |
| Last update: Thursday, August 12, 2010 |