powdered mercuric chloride, strongly heated in a glass tube. It is limpid, colourless, highly fetid, fumes in the air, and is slowly resolved by water into phosphorus acid and hydrochloric acid. Sp. gr. 1·45.
Phosphorus, Pentachloride of. PCl5. Syn. Phosphoric chloride, Perchloride Of Phosphorus.
Prep. By the spontaneous combustion of phosphorus in an excess of dry chlorine; or by passing a stream of dry chlorine into the liquid terchloride. By the first method it is obtained as a white crystalline sublimate; by the second, as a solid crystalline mass. It is volatile; water resolves it into phosphoric acid and hydrochloric acid.
Phosphorus, Oxychloride of. PCl3O. Syn. Phosphoric oxychloride, Phosphoric monoxychloride.
Prep. By heating pentachloride of phosphorus with a quantity of water insufficient to convert it into phosphoric acid. It is a colourless, fuming liquid, having the sp. gr. 1·7.
Phosphorus, Hydride of. PH3. Syn. Phosphoretted hydrogen, Phosphuretted hydrogen.
Prep. 1. Phosphorus acid is gently heated in a retort, and the first portion of the gas collected.
2. From phosphorus (in small lumps) boiled in a solution of hydrate of potassium or milk of lime, contained in a small retort, as before. Take a very small thin retort, capable of holding not more than 1 oz. or 11⁄2 oz. of water; place in this 3 or 4 fragments of the sticks of fused hydrate of potassium, each being about 1⁄2 inch in length; add as much water as will barely cover them, and then drop in a small fragment of phosphorus, about the size of a horse-bean; apply a very gentle heat with the small flame of a spirit lamp, agitating the retort continually. A pale lambent flame will first appear in the interior, and when this reaches the orifice, and burns in the open air, the retort should be placed on the stand with its beak about an inch under water. Care must be taken not to withdraw the flame of the lamp. When the bubbles of the gas rise to the surface they spontaneously inflame.
3. From phosphide of calcium and dilute hydrochloric acid, as above; or simply from the phosphide thrown into the water.
Obs. The gas obtained by methods 2 and 3 is contaminated with the vapour of a liquid phosphide of hydrogen, PH2, which gives to it the property of spontaneous inflammability.