Phosphorus
The element that is featured in this report
is phosphorus. Phosphorus is a
chemical element that human beings, animals,
and plants need for normal growth.
The main use of phosphorus is
fertilizer. It was difficult to find a lot of
different information on this
element. Description Phosphorus is a nonmetallic
chemical element that can
exist in several different forms. The chemical symbol
for phosphorus is P,
its atomic number is 15, and its atomic weight is 30.975.
Phosphorus was
first prepared by the German alchemist Hennig Brandt in 1669; in
the course
of his search for the philosopher’s stone he obtained from a
residue of
evaporated urine a white solid that glowed in the dark and
ignited
spontaneously in the air. The name phosphorus is Greek for
"light-bringing".
The name at that time was used for any substance that
glows of itself, and was
eventually given to this element. Phosphorus does
not occur in elemental form in
nature; it is found most commonly in apatite
minerals such as fluorapatite.
Their are at least ten forms of the
element that are known, occurring within
red, white, and black phosphorus
categories or as mixtures of them. White
phosphorus consists of molecular
P(4) and can exist in an alpha form, which is
stable at room temperature, and
a beta form, stable below -78 deg C. White
phosphorus is a waxlike substance,
very toxic and extremely flammable. When it
is exposed to air in the dark, it
emits a greenish light and gives off white
fumes. It can ignite
spontaneously. Red phosphorus is a more stable form than
white. Red
phosphorus is a brownish-red powder and it can be obtained by heating
white
phosphorus to 250 deg C in a closed vessel or exposing white phosphorus
to
sunlight Red phosphorus is often considered a mixture of white and
black
phosphorus. It neither phosphoresces nor spontaneously burns in air.
Red
phosphorus should be handled carefully at certain temperatures because it
can
change to white phosphorus. Upon heating to temperatures near 300 deg C
for
several days, red phosphorus is converted to black phosphorus. Black
phosphorus
is a much less common form. It is flaky, like graphite, and has
some metallic
properties. It is the least reactive of the forms of
phosphorus. Physical
Properties Some of the physical properties of
phosphorus are its various colors
as listed above. The most common colors are
white, red, and black. In the white
form it is a waxlike substance. In the
red form of phosphorus it is a
brownish-red powder and the black form
resembles the mineral granite and is
flaky. Chemical Properties A chemical
property found in phosphorus is its
flammability. Also, it glows in the dark
when exposed to air. Phosphorus can
change forms by the changing of
temperature. Phosphorus is also very toxic. The
chemical properties change
depending on what form of phosphorus is used. Uses of
the Element Phosphorus
is used for many different things. White phosphorus is
used in incendiary and
napalm bombs. It is used in the explosive part of the
bombs. Phosphorus is
one of the most important substances for life along with
water, carbon,
nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. The principal components of organic
matter are
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur are
important
because they interact with the carbon-hydrogen-oxygen matrix.
These
substances are components of natural cycles that have geological as
well as
biological components. Another use for phosphorus is the match. The
first
friction matches were tipped with mixtures that included the incendiary
chemical
white phosphorus. They were produced in the 1830s. They would ignite
when struck
against almost any rough surface. For workers in match factories,
however, the
white phosphorus proved a deadly poison; the incidence of
"phossy
jaw," a bone malady caused by the chemical, was among the earliest
of
recognized occupational diseases. The safety match, developed in 1855,
could be
ignited only by striking it on a surface containing red phosphorus.
Phosphorus
remained a hazard in "strike anywhere" matches, however, until
the
development in 1911 of phosphorus sesquisulfide, a nonpoisonous chemical.
The
blast furnace iron also contains a small but significant amount of
phosphorus.
In the steel making process most of the phosphorus must be
reduced. The
phosphorus level is very high in milk, meats, many vegetables,
and fruits such
as bananas. It is very important for the human body to
receive a certain amount
of phosphorus because it is essential to the
building of bone. Another function
of phosphorus in the human body is that it
is needed in intermediary metabolism.
10 Compounds of the Phosphorus 1.
Phosphate Nearly all the phosphorus used is in
the form of phosphates, the
salts derived from phosphoric acid. Phosphates are
one of a number of
chemical compound that contain phosphorus and oxygen in the
phosphate group
PO4. Phosphates are necessary to the growth of plants and
animal, and have
extensive use as fertilizers. The phosphate mineral
hydroxyyapatite is and
important part of bones and teeth. Phosphates used to be
used to make
detergents. They helped remove dirt and soften hard water. The
result of
using phosphates in detergents appear to have contributed to water
pollution.
These compounds in waste water fertilize simple plants called algae.
When
the algae died their decay polluted the water. 2. Phosphoric
Acid
Phosphoric acid is the most common acid of phosphorus. Industry uses
it to make
inorganic phosphate compounds. Phosphoric acid is also used in
fertilizers, soft
drinks, and flavoring syrups. Most phosphoric acid is made
by burning pure
phosphorus to form phosphorus pentoxide, which is reacted
with water. Pure
phosphoric acid forms colorless crystals that melt at about
41.5 deg C. it is
very soluble in water. Technically phosphoric acid is
called ortophosphoric
acid. Its chemical formula is H3PO4. 3. Phosphorus
tribromide •Formula: Br3P
•Molecular Weight: 270.69 •CAS Registry Number:
7789-60-8 •Chemical
Structure: •Other Names: PBr3; Phosphorus(III)
bromide; Phosphorous tribromide;
Extrema; Phosphorous bromide; Phosphorus
bromide; Tribromophosphine Aluminum
monophosphide 4. Aluminum monophosphide
•Formula: AlP •Molecular Weight:
57.96 •CAS Registry Number: 20859-73-8
•Other Names: Aluminum phosphide; AlP;
Aluminium-phosphide-; Aluminum
phosphide (AlP) 5. Phosphorus(v) bromide
•Formula: Br5P •Molecular Weight:
430.49 •CAS Registry Number: 7789-69-7
•Other Names: Phosphorous
pentabromide; Phosphorus pentabromide; Phosphorane,
pentabromo-;
Pentabromophosphorane; Pentabromophosphorus; Phosphoric bromide;
6.
Phosphorus bromide •Formula: BrP •Molecular Weight: 110.88 •CAS
Registry
Number: 59727-16-1 •Other Names: PBr 7. Dyfonate •Formula:
C10H15OPS2
•Molecular Weight: 246.33 •CAS Registry Number: 944-22-9 •Other
Names:
Fonofos; O-Ethyl S-phenyl ethylphosphonothiolothionate;
Phosphonodithioic acid,
ethyl-, O-ethyl S-phenyl ester; Difonate; Difonatul;
Dyfonat; Dyfonate 10G;
Dyphonate; N 2790; O-Ethyl S-Phenyl
ethyldithiophosphonate; O-Ethyl S-phenyl
ethylphosphonodithioate; Stauffer N
2790; 10 G; O-Aethyl-S-phenyl-aethyl-dithiophosphonat;
ENT 25,796;
Fonophos; OMS 410 8. Phosphonous acid, phenyl-, diethyl ester
•Formula:
C10H15O2P •Molecular Weight: 198.20 •CAS Registry Number:
1638-86-4
•Other Names: Diethyl phenylphosphonite; Diethoxyphenylphosphine
9.
Phosphine, dibutylvinyl- •Formula: C10H21P •Molecular Weight: 172.25
•CAS
Registry Number: 13652-22-7 10. Stirifos •Formula: C10H9Cl4O4P
•Molecular
Weight: 365.96 •CAS Registry Number: 22248-79-9 •Other Names:
Stirofos;
Tetrachlorvinphos; Phosphoric acid