Knowra Phosphorus oxidation state Phosphorus oxidation state Phosphorus oxidation state is the formal charge assigned to a phosphorus atom in a compound by treating bonds as if their electrons belonged to the more electronegative atom.
Oxidation state : A formal charge assigned to an atom by assuming bonds are ionic and assigning each shared electron to the more electronegative atom. The general bookkeeping rules define how phosphorus values are assigned.
Phosphine : A colorless, toxic gas with formula PH₃ and a trigonal-pyramidal molecular structure. Its P–H bonds give phosphorus the oxidation state −3 under standard rules.
Phosphate : An ion or functional group containing phosphorus bonded to oxygen, commonly represented by PO₄³⁻. Phosphorus is +5 in phosphate, a widespread endpoint in biological and environmental chemistry.
Elemental phosphorus : Phosphorus in its uncombined elemental forms, including white, red, and black phosphorus. The elemental reference state is zero, unlike phosphorus in most compounds.
Electronegativity : A measure of how strongly an atom attracts shared electrons in a chemical bond. Electronegativity decides which bonded atom receives phosphorus’s shared electrons.
Phosphorus trichloride : A molecular compound with formula PCl₃, used as a precursor to many organophosphorus compounds. Chlorine’s greater electronegativity assigns phosphorus the oxidation state +3.
Phosphite : A family of phosphorus oxyanions and compounds in which phosphorus is generally in the +3 oxidation state. Comparing phosphite with phosphate makes a two-electron oxidation-state change explicit.
Hypophosphite : The anion H₂PO₂⁻, whose phosphorus atom has oxidation state +1. It contrasts with phosphate’s +5 state while remaining an oxygen-containing phosphorus anion.
Formal charge : A bookkeeping charge calculated by assigning bonding electrons equally between bonded atoms. Unlike formal charge, oxidation state assigns bonding electrons to the more electronegative atom.
Phosphorus pentachloride : A phosphorus chloride with formula PCl₅ that forms trigonal-bipyramidal molecules in the gas phase and ions in some solids. Its P–Cl bonds illustrate phosphorus at oxidation state +5.
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