The crystalline A17 layered structure of Phosphorus, commonly indicated as black Phosphorus, was synthesized for the first time at high pressure by Bridgman back in 1914 [1] and is currently attracting a growing attention from chemists, physicists and materials scientists due to the appealing properties of its monolayer counterpart named Phosphorene [2]. Recently, high pressure studies have reported the observation of a pseudo simple cubic (p-sc) structure in the phase diagram of Phosphorus up to 30 GPa, significantly raising the pressure limit for the layered structures of P and opening new perspectives for their stabilization and functionalization [3-4]. On the other side, the experimental report of superconductivity in compressed PH3 [5], with no structural characterization so far, has stimulated experimental and theoretical efforts to investigate the high pressure stability of different systems containing Phosphorus and Hydrogen, which can be responsible for such behavior in analogy with H2S [6,7].
In this study we investigated the chemical reactivity of black Phosphorus and molecular Hydrogen under high pressure and high temperature conditions, which were generated using a membrane Diamond Anvil Cell (DAC) in combination with laser heating. The sample was probed by means of synchrotron X-ray diffraction at ESRF-ID27 and by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy at LENS.
The visual inspection of the sample after laser heating clearly showed the consumption of Phosphorus. Correspondingly, the analysis of the experimental XRD and spectroscopic data indicated the formation of different reaction products containing P-H bonds, particularly PH3, H-functionalized Phosphorus fragments and a solid product identified as a van der Waals compound made of PH3 and H2, whose crystal structure was accurately determined from single crystal data. The identification of this compound, representing so far a missing piece, consistently fills a gap in the periodic table for Phosphorus, in agreement with analogous compounds reported in literature formed by the hydrides of Carbon (CH4), Sulphur (H2S), Selenium (H2Se) and Iodine (HI) in the presence of H2 [8-11]. Furthermore, the observation of this compound provides new experimental evidence for the formation of unexpected chemical species originating from the high pressure chemistry of Phosphorus and Hydrogen, possibly shedding new light on the high pressure superconductivity of Phosphorus-Hydrogen systems.
Acknowledgments: Thanks are expressed to EC through the European Research Council (ERC) for funding the project PHOSFUN “Phosphorene functionalization: a new platform for advanced multifunctional materials” (Grant Agreement No. 670173) through an ERC Advanced Grant.
References
[1] P. W. Bridgman, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1914, 36, 1344.
[2] M. Peruzzini et al., Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2019, 1476.
[3] D. Scelta et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017, 56, 14135.
[4] D. Scelta et al., Chem. Commun. 2018, 54, 10554.
[5] A. P. Drozdov et al., arXiv:1508.06224 (2015).
[6] T. Bi et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2017, 56, 10192.
[7 M. Liu et al. J. Raman Spectrosc. 2018, 49, 721.
[8] M. S. Somayazulu et al., Science 1996, 271, 1400.
[9] T. A. Strobel et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2011, 107, 255503 .
[10] E. J. Pace et al., J. Chem. Phys. 2017, 147, 184303.
[11] Binns J. et al., Phys. Rev. B 2018, 97, 024111.