| RESEARCH |
P takes on nanorod shapes New structural forms of elemental phosphorus have been revealed in studies carried out by German researchers [Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 43, 4228 (2004)]. Phosphorus occurs in nature in various phosphate-bearing rocks, and for some 350 years it has been known that pure phosphorus can be prepared by reducing these materials. Several phosphorus allotropes consisting of P4 and other units have been identified, with the white, red, violet, and black color modifications being the main forms. Arno Pfitzner of the University of Regensburg and Hellmut Eckert of the University of Münster and coworkers have now isolated two red-brown forms, one each from solutions of (CuI)8P12 and (CuI)3P12. They prepared the compounds by reacting CuI with red phosphorus. The German team used electron microscopy and NMR to identify the red-brown forms as rod-shaped P12 units (shown), noting that red-brown phosphorus is distinctly different from the amorphous red phosphorus, which is also thought to be polymeric. |
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