Phosphorus Pentoxide at 233 K

Abstract

The structure of the thermodynamically most stable form of phosphorus pentoxide, o'-(P 2 O 5 )∞, consists of infinite layers built from six-membered rings of three-corner linked PO 4 - tetrahedra, as described in 1964 by Cruickshank [Acta Cryst. (1964), 17, 679-680]. The P― O bond distances and P-O-P bond angles reported here differ from Cruickshank's values and show a better agreement with the average ranges of known crystalline phosphate structures.