A Novel Phosphorus Chalcogenide: P₂Se₅

Abstract

A phosphorus/selenium ratio of 2:5 does not necessarily mean that P2Se5 is also a structural analogue of P4O10. As shown on the right, the phosphorus atoms in P2Se5 are threefold coordinated. They are joined through one mono- and two diselenide bridges. In short, a large ratio of selenium in the system phosphorus-selenium does not lead automatically to an increase in the coordination number at phosphorus.