Picric-A - 22-7-2008 at 08:13
Today i was making some magnesium posphide the way i normally make calcium phosphide. This envolves flushing a test tube out with inert gas
(helium/CO2) after adding some magnesium shavins and red phosphorous.
Nromally when i use calcium barely any fumes are released and the mix goes blacky quite quickly as caclium phosphide forms.
This time something new happened. first white fumes were given off, followed my light yellow fumes! i panicked as i guessed these were white P fumes.
i put a bung in the test tube and left it to cool down. after about 2 mins i observed yellow blobs on the side of the test tube resembling water
droplets but they were solid all right... the mix was black, like normal.
this is were i need help. I have put the bunged test tube in our freezer to prevent autoignition of the (possible) white P.
Could this infact be white phosporus???
if so... i dotn want it hanging around! how can i get rid of it?
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PICTURE DELETED - Too large and corrupted site appearance. Use Irfanview or similar freeware to resize. Unsharp pictures
don't help either.
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[Edited on 22-7-2008 by vulture]
ScienceSquirrel - 22-7-2008 at 08:31
Have a look here;
http://woelen.homescience.net/science/chem/exps/RedP2WhiteP/...
Clean up instructions are towards the bottom of the page.
EDIT by woelen: Changed link to my website, so that it works again.
[Edited on 12-6-12 by woelen]
Picric-A - 22-7-2008 at 12:26
cool, thanks.
soz admin about picture... i need to get me a new camera 
anotheronebitesthedust - 22-7-2008 at 23:22
Does anyone know where to buy magnesium phosphide?
ScienceSquirrel - 24-7-2008 at 04:27
About twenty years ago aluminium phosphide was available from specialist horticultural shops in the UK for killing moles.
It is now a Schedule 1 poison and it cannot be bought without a certificate of competency and completing a poisons form.
Picric-A - 25-7-2008 at 09:28
as with all phosphides, one used to be able to buy a 25kg back of calcium phosphide for about £5. now i have no idea where to buy it 