P4O10 has a lot of different names, but phosphorus pentoxide is the most common one. This compound is made up of covalent bonds between four atoms of phosphorus and ten atoms of oxygen.
How Did P4O10 Get Its Name?
Some people might find the name confusing because “pent-” means “five,” but the compound has 10 oxygen atoms. P2O5 is the empirical formula for phosphorus pentoxide, which is where it gets its name. P2O5 molecules are unstable, so they stick together to make P4O10 molecules, which are bigger.
How P4O10 looks and feels
At room temperature, phosphorus pentoxide is a white waxy solid that usually comes in the form of a powder. The molecule is shaped like a hexagon and is held together by weak forces called van der Waals forces. This compound is one of a kind because it has four different shapes, or polymorphs. Most of the time, two molecules of P2O5 join together to make P4O10, which is bigger. All of the different forms of phosphorus pentoxide are based on how the phosphorus and oxygen atoms in the compound are arranged.
At 340C, it melts, and at 360C, it boils. Because the melting point and boiling point are so close to each other, phosphorus pentoxide often goes straight from solid to gas without melting.
What P4O10 is made of chemically
Polar compounds include phosphorus pentoxide. It is a noncombustible compound, which means that it doesn’t burn when mixed with oxygen. But it reacts very quickly with water and turns into phosphoric acid when it does. It can start a fire if it touches something that has water in it, like cotton or wood. When it comes in contact with metal, it causes corrosion and makes different types of metal oxides. It also eats away at the skin and other tissues, causing chemical burns and inflammation in the lungs. Even in small amounts, these things can irritate and hurt. Phosphorus pentoxide needs to be handled with the right safety precautions.
The Making of P4O10
Most of the time, phosphorus and oxygen are burned to make phosphorus pentoxide. The compound is made when tetraphosphorus is burned with a lot of oxygen. As a starting point, you need white phosphorus. Adding water to phosphorus pentoxide makes phosphoric acid, but you can’t do the reaction backwards. You can’t make phosphorus pentoxide by taking water out of phosphoric acid.
Uses for P4O10
Most of the time, phosphorus pentoxide is used to make phosphoric acid. It is also used as a desiccant and dehydrating agent because it reacts so easily with water. It takes the moisture out of the air to keep a place dry. During storage, phosphorus pentoxide tends to form a protective layer around the outside. This layer keeps it from absorbing any more moisture. Because of this, it is often used to dry when it is in granular form.
As a desiccant used in industry, this compound acts as a link between acids and their anhydride forms. It is used, for example, to turn nitric acid (HNO3) into nitrogen pentoxide (N2O5). Phosphorus pentoxide is also used to make glass and rubber, and it is also used in some lab procedures.
P4O10 is also known as
P4O10 is most often called “phosphorus pentoxide,” but it also has other names, such as:
Diphosphorous pentoxide
Oxide of phosphorus
Anhydride of phosphorus
Tetraphosphorus decaoxide
Tetraphosphorus decoxide