Tin triphosphide


Tin triphosphide is a binary inorganic compound of tin metal and phosphorus with the chemical formula.

Structure

reveals that tin triphosphide is not a triphosphide. It is a hexaphosphide, with P66- rings. These ruffled P6 rings form three short and three long Sn-P bonds. The result is that Sn adopts highly distorted octahedral geometry. The structure of tin triphosphide resembles that of gray arsenic, which also features corrugated, linked six-membered rings, wherein each arsenic atom has a highly distorted octahedral geometry. Germanium triphosphide and tin triphosphide are similar structurally as well.
Tin triphosphide forms triclinic crystals, spatial group R3m with six formula units in a unit cell of dimensions a = 7.378 Å and c = 10.512 Å.

Preparation and occurrence

Tin triphosphide can be formed from the fusion of stoichiometric amounts of both elements at 580 °C:
has been evaluated for use in energy storage devices.

Related compounds