IChO 1989 · Theory problem 4

32P-labelled PCl5: reaction mechanism and solubility of Mg(NH4)PO4

\(\ce{^{32}P}\) labelled phosphorus pentachloride (half-life \(t_{1/2}=14.3\) days) is used to study the electrophilic attack of a \(\ce{PCl4+}\) cation on nitrogen or on oxygen.

Figure 1

The reaction is carried out in \(\ce{CCl4}\) and the solvent and product IV distilled off. Samples of III (remaining in the distillation flask), of IV (in the distillate) and samples of the starting material II are hydrolyzed by heating with a strong sodium hydroxide solution. The phosphate ions formed are precipitated as ammonium magnesium phosphate. Purified samples of the three precipitates are then dissolved by known volumes of water and the radioactivity measured.

4.1 Write the balanced equations for the reaction of red phosphorus forming \(\ce{PCl5}\)

4.2 Write the reaction equations for complete hydrolysis of the compounds II and III using sodium hydroxide.

4.3 How long does it take in order to lower the initial radioactivity to \(10^{-3}\) of the initial value?

4.4 Write two alternative mechanisms for the reaction of labelled \(\ce{PCl4^-}\) with the anion of I.

4.5 After hydrolysis the precipitated ammonium magnesium phosphates show the following values for radioactivity:

II. 2380 Bq for 128 mg of \(\ce{Mg(NH4)PO4}\)

III. 28 Bq for 153 mg of \(\ce{Mg(NH4)PO4}\)

IV. 2627 Bq for 142 mg of \(\ce{Mg(NH4)PO4}\)

Using these data, what can you say about the nucleophilic centre attacked by \(\ce{PCl4^-}\)?

Data: For \(\ce{H3PO4}\): \(pK_1=2.2;\quad pK_2=7.2;\quad pK_3=12.4\)

Solubility product of \(\ce{Mg(NH4)PO4}\): \(pK_s=12.6\)

Equilibrium concentration of \(\ce{NH4+}=0.1\ \mathrm{mol\,dm^{-3}}\)

4.6 Calculate the solubility for \(\ce{Mg(NH4)PO4}\) at pH equal to 10 under idealized conditions (activity coefficients can be neglected).

Official English text of the problem.

Answers

  • 4.1 \[ \ce{2P + 3Cl2 -> 2PCl3},\qquad \ce{PCl3 + Cl2 -> PCl5}. \] Overall: \(\ce{2P + 5Cl2 -> 2PCl5}\), with red phosphorus as the elemental reactant.

  • 4.2 \[ \ce{PCl5 + 8NaOH -> Na3PO4 + 5NaCl + 4H2O} \] \[ \ce{Cl3P=N-P(=O)Cl2 + 11NaOH -> 2Na3PO4 + 5NaCl + NH3 + 4H2O}. \]

  • 4.3 \(t=142.5\ \mathrm{days}\approx\boxed{143\ \mathrm{days}}\).

  • 4.4 Nitrogen attack places the incoming \(\ce{^{32}P}\) in III; oxygen attack places it in IV, phosphorus oxychloride. The explicit alternative mechanisms are given below.

  • 4.5 The measurements identify oxygen as the predominantly attacked nucleophilic centre.

  • 4.6 The molar solubility is \[ \boxed{s\approx2.5\times10^{-5}\ \mathrm{mol\,dm^{-3}}}. \]

Solution

4.1 — Formation of phosphorus pentachloride

Chlorination first gives phosphorus trichloride; further chlorination gives phosphorus pentachloride:

\[ \ce{2P + 3Cl2 -> 2PCl3} \]

\[ \ce{PCl3 + Cl2 -> PCl5}. \]

Multiplying the second equation by two and adding gives

\[ \boxed{\ce{2P + 5Cl2 -> 2PCl5}}. \]

The species are:

Species Name SMILES
\(\ce{Cl2}\) Chlorine ClCl
\(\ce{PCl3}\) Phosphorus trichloride ClP(Cl)Cl
\(\ce{PCl5}\) Phosphorus pentachloride ClP(Cl)(Cl)(Cl)Cl
\(\ce{^{32}PCl5}\) Phosphorus-32-labelled phosphorus pentachloride Cl[32P](Cl)(Cl)(Cl)Cl

Red phosphorus is an extended covalent allotrope, so it has no unique finite molecular SMILES. [P] represents only an individual phosphorus atom for stoichiometric bookkeeping. The neutral molecular pentachloride has trigonal bipyramidal geometry, which its SMILES does not specify.

4.2 — Complete alkaline hydrolysis

Compound III is N-(dichlorophosphoryl)trichlorophosphazene, \(\ce{Cl3P=N-P(=O)Cl2}\), SMILES O=P(Cl)(Cl)N=P(Cl)(Cl)Cl.

Complete hydrolysis converts each phosphorus atom into orthophosphate and each chlorine atom into chloride. In strongly alkaline solution, the nitrogen of III becomes ammonia.

For II:

\[ \boxed{\ce{PCl5 + 8NaOH -> Na3PO4 + 5NaCl + 4H2O}}. \]

For III:

\[ \boxed{\ce{Cl3P=N-P(=O)Cl2 + 11NaOH -> 2Na3PO4 + 5NaCl + NH3 + 4H2O}}. \]

The second equation balances two phosphorus atoms, five chlorine atoms, one nitrogen atom, twelve oxygen atoms and eleven hydrogen atoms on each side.

The additional species are:

Species Name SMILES
\(\ce{NaOH}\) Sodium hydroxide [Na+].[OH-]
\(\ce{Na3PO4}\) Trisodium orthophosphate [Na+].[Na+].[Na+].[O-]P(=O)([O-])[O-]
\(\ce{NaCl}\) Sodium chloride [Na+].[Cl-]
\(\ce{NH3}\) Ammonia N
\(\ce{H2O}\) Water O

The disconnected ionic SMILES describe the constituent ions, not their crystal lattices.

4.3 — Radioactive decay

Activity is proportional to the number of undecayed radioactive nuclei:

\[ \frac{A(t)}{A_0}=2^{-t/t_{1/2}}. \]

Therefore,

\[ 10^{-3}=2^{-t/(14.3\ \mathrm{days})}, \]

and

\[ t=(14.3\ \mathrm{days})\frac{\ln(10^3)}{\ln2} =142.5\ \mathrm{days}. \]

Thus approximately ten half-lives are required:

\[ \boxed{t\approx143\ \mathrm{days}}. \]

4.4 — Alternative mechanisms and isotope positions

The reacting electrophile is taken to be \(\ce{PCl4+}\), consistently with the introduction.

Compound I is bis(dichlorophosphoryl)amine, \(\ce{HN[P(=O)Cl2]2}\), SMILES O=P(Cl)(Cl)NP(=O)(Cl)Cl. Its N–H hydrogen is implicit in the scheme and accounts for the hydrogen chloride byproduct.

Compound IV is phosphorus oxychloride, \(\ce{POCl3}\), SMILES O=P(Cl)(Cl)Cl. Hydrogen chloride has SMILES [H]Cl; the solvent, carbon tetrachloride, has SMILES ClC(Cl)(Cl)Cl.

Loss of the N–H proton gives the bis(dichlorophosphoryl)amide anion. Its charge can be represented on nitrogen or on either equivalent oxygen:

\[ \ce{Cl2P(=O)-N^{-}-P(=O)Cl2 <-> Cl2P(-O^{-})=N-P(=O)Cl2}. \]

These are resonance contributors of the same ion:

  • N-centred contributor: O=P(Cl)(Cl)[N-]P(=O)(Cl)Cl.
  • O-centred contributor: [O-]P(Cl)(Cl)=NP(=O)(Cl)Cl.

The labelled tetrachlorophosphonium cation is \(\ce{[^{32}PCl4]+}\), SMILES [32P+](Cl)(Cl)(Cl)Cl. It is tetrahedral and is supplied formally by

\[ \ce{^{32}PCl5 <=> [^{32}PCl4]+ + Cl-}, \]

where chloride has SMILES [Cl-].

Alternative 1: attack at nitrogen.

The nitrogen electron pair attacks the labelled phosphorus:

\[ \ce{[(Cl2P(=O))2N]^- + [^{32}PCl4]+ -> (Cl2P(=O))2N-^{32}PCl4}. \]

The neutral N-bound adduct is tetrachloro[bis(dichlorophosphoryl)amino]phosphorane, labelled at its tetrachlorophosphorane phosphorus:

O=P(Cl)(Cl)N(P(=O)(Cl)Cl)[32P](Cl)(Cl)(Cl)Cl

It can collapse as follows:

\[ \ce{(Cl2P(=O))2N-^{32}PCl4 -> ^{32}PCl3=N-P(=O)Cl2 + POCl3}. \]

In this formal elimination, one chloride ligand transfers from the labelled phosphorus to an original dichlorophosphoryl phosphorus. Cleavage of that original phosphorus–nitrogen bond accompanies formation of the \(\ce{N=^{32}P}\) double bond.

Consequently, the incoming label appears in III, at its trichlorophosphazene phosphorus:

O=P(Cl)(Cl)N=[32P](Cl)(Cl)Cl

The phosphorus of IV comes from I and is unlabelled.

Alternative 2: attack at oxygen.

The O-centred resonance contributor attacks the labelled phosphorus:

\[ \ce{Cl2P(-O^{-})=N-P(=O)Cl2 + [^{32}PCl4]+ -> Cl2P(-O-^{32}PCl4)=N-P(=O)Cl2}. \]

The O-bound adduct is a dichloro[(dichlorophosphoryl)imino][(tetrachlorophosphoranyl)oxy]phosphorane, labelled at its tetrachlorophosphoranyl phosphorus:

ClP(Cl)(=NP(=O)(Cl)Cl)O[32P](Cl)(Cl)(Cl)Cl

It can collapse according to

\[ \ce{Cl2P(-O-^{32}PCl4)=N-P(=O)Cl2 -> Cl3P=N-P(=O)Cl2 + ^{32}POCl3}. \]

Here, chloride transfers from the labelled phosphorus to the original phosphorus bonded to the bridging oxygen. Cleavage of the original phosphorus–oxygen bond accompanies formation of the \(\ce{O=^{32}P}\) double bond.

Thus III retains both original, unlabelled phosphorus atoms, while the incoming label appears in IV, phosphorus-32-labelled phosphorus oxychloride:

O=[32P](Cl)(Cl)Cl

These schemes specify formal electron-flow and atom-mapping alternatives. Their SMILES encode connectivity and isotope positions, but not the electron-pair arrows or transition-state geometry.

4.5 — Identification of the attacked centre

Each formula unit of the precipitate contains one phosphorus atom. Because all three precipitates have the same composition, activity per unit precipitate mass directly compares activity per phosphorus atom.

Define \(a_i=A_i/m_i\):

Source Specific activity \(a_i\), \(\mathrm{Bq\,mg^{-1}}\) Relative to II
II \(2380/128=18.6\) \(1\)
III \(28/153=0.183\) \(0.00984\)
IV \(2627/142=18.5\) \(0.995\)

The two mechanisms predict different isotope distributions:

  • Nitrogen attack: one incoming phosphorus atom enters each molecule of III, which contains two phosphorus atoms. Its phosphate precipitate should therefore have approximately half the specific activity of that from II. IV should be unlabelled.
  • Oxygen attack: the incoming phosphorus atom enters IV, so its specific activity should equal that of II. III should have negligible activity.

The observed pattern closely matches the second prediction:

\[ a_{\mathrm{IV}}\approx a_{\mathrm{II}}, \qquad a_{\mathrm{III}}\ll a_{\mathrm{II}}. \]

Therefore,

\[ \boxed{\text{The electrophile attacks predominantly at oxygen.}} \]

The small residual activity in III does not, by itself, establish a definite minor nitrogen-attack pathway.

4.6 — Solubility at pH 10

Ammonium magnesium phosphate is represented by the ionic SMILES

[Mg+2].[NH4+].[O-]P(=O)([O-])[O-].

Its dissolution equilibrium is

\[ \ce{Mg(NH4)PO4(s) <=> Mg^2+(aq) + NH4+(aq) + PO4^3-(aq)}. \]

The ions and phosphate protonation states involved are:

Species Name SMILES
\(\ce{Mg^2+}\) Magnesium ion [Mg+2]
\(\ce{NH4+}\) Ammonium ion [NH4+]
\(\ce{H+}\) Hydrogen ion [H+]
\(\ce{H3PO4}\) Phosphoric acid O=P(O)(O)O
\(\ce{H2PO4^-}\) Dihydrogen phosphate ion O=P(O)(O)[O-]
\(\ce{HPO4^2-}\) Hydrogen phosphate ion O=P(O)([O-])[O-]
\(\ce{PO4^3-}\) Orthophosphate ion O=P([O-])([O-])[O-]

Let \(s\) be the molar solubility. Using the supplied equilibria,

\[ [\ce{Mg^2+}]=s, \]

and the total dissolved phosphate concentration is

\[ c_{\mathrm P} =[\ce{H3PO4}]+[\ce{H2PO4^-}] +[\ce{HPO4^2-}]+[\ce{PO4^3-}] =s. \]

Only a fraction \(\alpha_3\) of this phosphate is present as \(\ce{PO4^3-}\). From the three acid dissociation equilibria,

\[ \alpha_3 =\frac{[\ce{PO4^3-}]}{c_{\mathrm P}} = \frac{1}{ 1+\dfrac{[\ce{H+}]}{K_3} +\dfrac{[\ce{H+}]^2}{K_2K_3} +\dfrac{[\ce{H+}]^3}{K_1K_2K_3} }. \]

At pH 10, substituting the given \(pK_i\) values gives

\[ \alpha_3 =\frac{1}{ 1+10^{2.4}+10^{-0.4}+10^{-8.2} } =3.959\times10^{-3}. \]

Thus only about \(0.396\%\) of the dissolved phosphate is free orthophosphate; most is hydrogen phosphate.

The solubility product is

\[ K_s=[\ce{Mg^2+}][\ce{NH4+}][\ce{PO4^3-}]. \]

Using the given equilibrium ammonium concentration directly, and expressing concentrations numerically in \(\mathrm{mol\,dm^{-3}}\),

\[ 10^{-12.6}=s(0.1)(\alpha_3s). \]

Therefore,

\[ s= \sqrt{\frac{10^{-12.6}}{0.1(3.959\times10^{-3})}} =2.519\times10^{-5}\ \mathrm{mol\,dm^{-3}}. \]

To sensible significant figures,

\[ \boxed{s=2.5\times10^{-5}\ \mathrm{mol\,dm^{-3}}}. \]

The solution was checked against the official solution.