Comparison between white phosphorous and red phosphorous

March 22, 2018

S.N	Properties	White phosphorous	Red phosphorous
1.	Colour	Light yellow	Red
2.	Smell	Light garlic	Smelless
3.	Physiology	Poisonous	Non-poisonous
4.	Conductivity	Bad conductor	Semiconductor
5.	Density	1.81 g/cm₃	2.1 g/cm₃
6.	Melting point	44ºc	500ºc
7.	Ignition temperature	30ºc	240ºc
8.	Phosphorescence	Glows up in dark	Does not glow in dark
9.	Solubility in Cs₂, C₆H₆, CCl₄, etc.	Soluble	Insoluble
10.	Action of NaOH	PH₃ gas is evolved	No reaction
11.	Action of CuSO₄	Formation of black ppt. of Cu₃P₂	No reaction
12.	Molecular formula	P₄	Complex polymer
13.	Stability	Unstable	stable
14.	Chemical reactivity	Very reactive	Less reactive

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References:

i) https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Inorganic_Chemistry/Supplemental_Modules_and_Websites_(Inorganic_Chemistry)/Descriptive_Chemistry/Elements_Organized_by_Block/2_p-Block_Elements/Group_15%3A_The_Nitrogen_Family/Z015_Chemistry_of_Phosphorous

ii) https://www.shaalaa.com/question-bank-solutions/write-main-differences-between-properties-white-phosphorus-red-phosphorus-concept-of-group-15-elements_9916

Comparison between white phosphorous and red phosphorous

Tags:conductivity, ignition, melting point, phosphine, phosphorescence, polymer, reactivity, semi conductor, solubility, stability

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Shailesh Koirala

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