Alkalis give hydrogen and phosphine.
Arsenic phosphide, AsP, results when phosphine is passed into arsenic trichloride, being precipitated as a red-brown powder.
By passing the products of the decomposition of calcium phosphide with water over granular calcium chloride, the P 2 H 4 gives a new hydride, P1.2H6 and phosphine, the former being an odourless, canary-yellow, amorphous powder.
Exposure to air gives phosphorous and phosphoric acids, and on heating it gives phosphine and phosphoric acid.
It decomposes on heating into phosphine and phosphoric acid.
Just as the amines are derived from ammonia, so from phosphine are derived the primary, secondary and tertiary organic phosphines by the exchange of hydrogen for alkyl groups, and corresponding to the phosphonium salts there exists a series of organic phosphonium bases.
On heating they yield phosphine and leave a residue of pyrophosphate, or a mixture of metaand pyrophosphates, with a little phosphorus.
Phenyl-acridine is the parent base of chrysaniline, which is the chief constituent of the dyestuff phosphine (a bye-product in the manufacture of rosaniline).
Solid Phosphoretted Hydrogen, P 4 H 2, first obtained by Le Verrier (loc. cit.), is formed by the action of phosphorus trichloride on gaseous phosphine (Besson, Comptes rendus, 111, p. 972); by the action of water on phosphorus di-iodide and by the decomposition of calcium phosphide with hot concentrated hydrochloric acid.
The chemicals present in the mattress react with the fungus and produces phosphine, arsine, and stibine.
The Committee agreed the following conclusions which are applicable to phosphine and all the above mentioned metallic phosphides.
The primary and secondary phosphines are colourless compounds, and with the exception of methyl phosphine are liquid at ordinary temperature.
The products used now produce phosphine, which is extremely toxic to rabbits.
The reaction mixture on treatment with water yields the primary phosphine, the secondary phosphine being then liberated from its hydriodide by caustic soda.
Water and the caustic alkalis readily decompose it with liberation of phosphine and the formation of iodides or hydriodic acid.
When finely divided it decomposes water giving hydrogen phosphide; it also reduces sulphurous and sulphuric' acids, and when boiled with water gives phosphine and hypophosphorous acid; when slowly oxidized under water it yields, hypophosphoric acid.
When warmed with alcoholic potash it yields gaseous phosphine, hydrogen and a hypophosphite.