Aluminum phosphide

Crystal structure
__ Al 3+      __ P 3−
Crystal system	cubic
Space group	F 4 3 m (No. 216)
Lattice parameters	a = 546.35 pm
General
Surname	Aluminum phosphide
Ratio formula	AlP
Brief description	dark yellow to gray solid with a carbide- like odor
External identifiers / databases
CAS number 20859-73-8 EC number 244-088-0 ECHA InfoCard 100.040.065 PubChem 30332 ChemSpider 28171 Wikidata Q411853
properties
Molar mass	57,90 g · mol -1
Physical state	firmly
density	2.4 g cm −3
Melting point	2550 ° C
solubility	slow decomposition in water
safety instructions
GHS hazard labeling from  Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 (CLP) , expanded if necessary danger H and P phrases H: 260-300-311-330-400 EUH: 029-032 P: 223-231 + 232-264-270-273-280-301 + 310-321-330-335 + 334-370 + 378-391-402 + 404-405-501
Thermodynamic properties
ΔH f 0	−166.5 kJ / mol
As far as possible and customary, SI units are used. Unless otherwise noted, the data given apply to standard conditions .

Aluminum phosphide (AlP) is the reaction product of aluminum with elemental phosphorus .

Extraction and presentation

Aluminum phosphide can be obtained by fusing red phosphorus with aluminum :

${\displaystyle {\ce {n\,Al{}+P_{n}->n\,AlP}}}$

Alternatively, an equimolar mixture of red phosphorus and aluminum can be ignited using a magnesium ribbon. However, the strongly exothermic reaction results in undesired side reactions. Other manufacturing methods (e.g. using yellow phosphorus) are also used.

properties

Aluminum phosphide is a dark gray to yellowish crystalline solid which, in contact with water or acids, develops self-igniting and toxic monophosphine (PH ₃ ).

${\displaystyle \mathrm {AlP+3H_{2}O\longrightarrow Al(OH)_{3}+PH_{3}} }$

${\displaystyle \mathrm {AlP+3H^{+}\longrightarrow Al^{3+}+PH_{3}} }$

Aluminum phosphide has a cubic zinc blende structure (similar to gallium arsenide ) in which all atoms are arranged in a tetrahedral shape.

use

Aluminum phosphide is used as a pest control agent ( insecticide and rodenticide with effect via the formation of phosphorus hydrogen , which, as a nucleophilic agent, blocks important fermentation systems .) In semiconductor technology and research it is used as a III-V semiconductor e.g. B. used for the production of aluminum gallium indium phosphide / indium gallium aluminum phosphide.

Toxic effect on humans

In water there is a release of monophosphine, which blocks cytochrome c oxidase and other antioxidant enzymes . As a result, on the one hand, inhibition of the respiratory chain leads to a reduced production of ATP and, on the other hand, to the increased formation of free oxygen radicals . The heart tissue seems to be particularly susceptible to the toxic effects.

Typical symptoms are shortness of breath and cyanosis , chest and abdominal pain , nausea and vomiting, and a drop in blood pressure up to shock . The cause of death is usually multiple organ failure . There is no causal therapy , so patients are treated symptomatically and supportively in the intensive care unit .

literature

• A. Müssigbrodt, J. Lauschke, GP Horn, W. Grimm, B. Maisch: Multiple organ failure after attempted suicide with aluminum phosphide , in Intensive Care Medicine and Emergency Medicine 2007/2, pp. 110–115. doi : 10.1007 / s00390-006-0722-1

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} semiconductors.co.uk: Properties of III-V Semiconductors
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Entry on aluminum phosphide in the GESTIS material database of the IFA , accessed on February 1, 2016(JavaScript required) .
3. ↑ Entry on aluminum phosphide in the Classification and Labeling Inventory of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), accessed on February 1, 2016. Manufacturers or distributors can expand the harmonized classification and labeling .
4. ↑ Landolt Börnstein: Aluminum phosphide (AlP)
5. ↑ David R. Lide (Ed.): CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics . 90th edition. (Internet version: 2010), CRC Press / Taylor and Francis, Boca Raton, FL, Standard Thermodynamic Properties of Chemical Substances, pp. 5-5.
6. ^ Wayne E. White, AH Bushey, Henry F. Holtzclaw Jr., Frank W. Hengeveld: Aluminum Phosphide . In: Inorganic Syntheses . 4, 1953, pp. 23-25. doi : 10.1002 / 9780470132357.ch7 .
7. ↑ L. Moser and A. Brukl, The gravimetric determination of the phosphorus hydrogen and a new apparatus for gas analysis in: Journal for inorganic and general chemistry 121 , 73-94 (1922)
8. ↑ Patent DE2945647A1 : Process for the production of aluminum phosphide and / or magnesium phosphide. Registered on November 12, 1979 , published on May 21, 1981 , Applicant: Degesch , Inventor: F. Horn, E. Fluck. text
9. ^ Federal Biological Research Center for Agriculture and Forestry: Reports Issue 39/1998.