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phosphorus pentoxide

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

noun Chemistry.

a white, deliquescent, crystalline powder, P2O5, 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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Also called phosphoric anhydride.

Words nearby phosphorus pentoxide

phosphoroscope, phosphorous, phosphorous acid, phosphorus, phosphorus 32, phosphorus pentoxide, phosphorus sesquisulfide, phosphorus trichloride, phosphorylase, phosphorylase phosphatase, phosphorylase-rupturing enzyme
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for phosphorus pentoxide

phosphorus pentoxide

noun

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)Also called: phosphoric anhydride
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012