phosphorus pentoxide

American  

[pen-tok-sahyd, -sid] / pɛnˈtɒk saɪd, -sɪd /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a white, deliquescent, crystalline powder, P 2 O 5 , that, depending upon the amount of water it absorbs, forms orthophosphoric acid, metaphosphoric acid, or pyrophosphoric acid, produced by the burning of phosphorus in dry air: used in the preparation of phosphoric acids, as a drying and dehydrating agent, and in organic synthesis.

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phosphorus pentoxide British  

noun

1. Also called: phosphoric anhydride.  a white odourless solid produced when phosphorus burns: has a strong affinity for water with which it forms phosphoric acids. Formula: P 2 O 5 (commonly existing as the dimer P 4 O 10 )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

phosphorus pentoxide

The phosphorus pentoxide used to produce phosphoric acid for cola soft drinks is prepared by burning phosphorus in oxygen.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019

Most artificial smokes, Miss Raskin explained, are made of fairly heavy materials such as phosphorus pentoxide or petroleum oils.

From Time Magazine Archive

The lower part of the whole apparatus was inclosed in a thick walled vessel, e, containing a layer of phosphorus pentoxide.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 1082, September 26, 1896 by Various

The apparatus consists of a solid and heavy block of wood supporting a calcium-chloride tube permanently connected with a tube of phosphorus pentoxide divided into compartments by plugs of glass wool.

From On Laboratory Arts by Threlfall, Richard

This acid can be obtained by dissolving phosphorus pentoxide in boiling water, as represented in the equation P2O5 + 3H2O = 2H3PO4.

From An Elementary Study of Chemistry by McPherson, William