308 History of the Phosphorus Chlorides. 



— The bulb containing the weighed portion was broken under 

 water, and ammonia and "magnesia-mixture" immediately added. 

 1*3965 grm. gave 0*5174 magnesium pyrophosphate, or 10*58 

 per cent. P, equivalent to 52*35 per cent. PO CI 3 . 



These numbers almost exactly correspond to a mixture con-» 

 taining equivalent quantities of PO CI 3 and PCI 3 . Such a mix- 

 ture would give : — 



Found. 



CI 73*17 73-21 



Total P 21*32 21*09 



P giving PO 4 H 3 . . 10*66 10*58 



The vitreous mass remaining in the tube fused on gently heat- 

 ing, and was decomposed; it was probably a combination of one 

 of the above chlorides with zinc chloride, possibly the ZnCl 2 + 

 PO CI 3 , already described by Casselmann"*, mixed with zinc oxide 

 or zinc oxychloride. 



The action of zinc at a high temperature on phosphoryl tri- 

 chloride is therefore sensibly different from the action of this 

 metal on the corresponding vanadium compound : in the former 

 case the reaction is mainly attended with the abstraction of 

 oxygen, in the latter with the abstraction of chlorine. 



II. Note on the Preparation of Phosphorus Sulpho chloride. 



This compound was first prepared by Serullas, who obtained 

 it by the action of sulphuretted hydrogen upon the pentachloride 

 of phosphorus, 



PC1 5 + H 2 S = 2HC1 + PSC1 3 . 



This reaction, however, affords only an impure product. 

 Baudrimont states that this compound is more easily prepared 

 by the action of pentachloride of phosphorus on antimony tri- 

 sulphide, 



3PCl 5 + Sb 2 S 3 =2SbCl 3 + 3PSCl 3 . 



It has long been known that phosphoryl trichloride may be 

 easily obtained in a state of complete purity by the action of 

 pentachloride of phosphorus on phosphoric anhydride, 



P 2 5 +3PCP=5P0C1 3 . 

 It occurred to me to try whether the sulphochloride might 

 not be produced by the analogous reaction with phosphorus 

 pentasulphide, 



P 2 S 5 + 3PC1 6 =5PSC1 3 . 

 The materials mixed in this proportion were heated in sealed 



* Ann. der Chem. und Pharm. vol. xcviii. p . 213. 



