Zinc phosphide
Overview
Chemical compound
A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...
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Zinc phosphide can be prepared by the reaction of zinc with phosphorus:
- 3Zn + 2P → Zn3P2
Zinc phosphide will react with water to produce phosphine
Phosphine
Phosphine is the compound with the chemical formula PH3. It is a colorless, flammable, toxic gas. Pure phosphine is odourless, but technical grade samples have a highly unpleasant odor like garlic or rotting fish, due to the presence of substituted phosphine and diphosphine...
(PH3) and zinc hydroxide
Zinc hydroxide
Zinc hydroxide Zn2 is an inorganic chemical compound. It also occurs naturally as 3 rare minerals: wülfingite , ashoverite and sweetite ....
(Zn(OH)2):
- Zn3P2 + 6H2O → 2PH3 + 3Zn(OH)2
Metal phosphides have been used as rodenticides.
