phosphorus pentoxide

[ pen-tok-sahyd, -sid ]

/ pɛnˈtɒk saɪd, -sɪd /

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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

How to use phosphorus pentoxide in a sentence

The ones that launched phosphorus bombs and used chemical weapons?
Paul Auster’s Criticism of Turkey’s Treatment of Writers Rebuked by P.M.|Oray Egin|February 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The silver rays struck upon their foreheads wet with the vapors of night, and made them like frost seen through phosphorus.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend|Charles Reade
From the amount of phosphorus found there appears to be about one dose of phosphoric acid to a twenty-ounce bottle.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2|Various
Leading physiologists quite generally agree that phosphorus in the form of glycerophosphates influences metabolism very little.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2|Various

In its elementary form, phosphorus is difficult to handle, and therefore not convenient for use.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2|Various
The existence in the system of a form of phosphorus less highly oxidized than the phosphates is unproved.
The Propaganda for Reform in Proprietary Medicines, Vol. 1 of 2|Various

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