86 
CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHEMISTRY AND MINERALOGY. [bull. 167. 
shaken a short time with 10 per cent ammonia, but one amide appears 
to be formed. As soon as a few drops of the ether solution leave, on 
evaporation, a residue completely soluble in hot water, indicating com- 
plete transformation of the chloride, it is dried over calcium chloride 
and allowed to evaporate spontaneously, whereby a substance crystal- 
lizing- in needles is deposited. The product, which appeared homo- 
geneous on microscopic examination, was directly analyzed. 
Calculated for 
P 3 N 3 C1 4 (NH 2 ) 2 . 
Found. 
p 
30.12 
22.72 
45.86 
1 
29.51 
21.98 
44.83 
N 
CI 
P:N:C1 = 3:4.94:3.98. 
The yield was 67 per cent of the theoretical, some of the chloride 
ha^ .ng been further decomposed and dissolved by the ammonia. 
Triphosphonitrilic chloramide is quite soluble in ether, and less solu- 
ble in hot benzene, from which it crystallizes in long tufts of delicate 
hairs. It is easily soluble in alcohol, and from the concentrated alcoholic 
solution it is precipitated by water. Its stability toward water is 
striking; cold water dissolves it slightly, and, on rapid evaporation, 
even on the water bath, much is deposited unaltered ; it can even be 
recrystallized from hot water, though with much decomposition, in 
needles or short prisms. Its stability in aqueous solution is further 
indicated by the failure of silver nitrate to give a precipitate except on 
boiling. Aqueous ammonia has but little action in the cold. On heat- 
ing its aqueous solution, ammonium chloride and a sirupy acid result. 
Cold dilute acids have no marked solvent action. It undergoes change 
gradually at ordinary temperature, and rapidly on heating, without 
fusing, ammonium chloride and an infusible white substance being the 
products in the latter case. 
Couldridge, 1 by acting on fused triphosphonitrilic chloride with 
gaseous ammonia, obtained a substance which he regarded as phos- 
pham. Both Couldridge and A. W. Hofmann 2 express the opinion 
that phospham has the composition expressed by the formula P 3 K 3 (NH)3. 
I regard this as too sweeping. Apart from the fact that its com- 
position varies with the mode of preparation, 3 it is likely that the true 
phospham is a mixture of an homologous series of imides (PN.NH) X , 
derivable from the homologous phosphonitrilic chlorides (PNC1 2 ) X . 
Tetraphosphonitrilic chloride, P 4 N 4 C1 8 . — The new chlorophosphuret of 
1 Jour. Chem. Soc. London, Vol. LIIT, p. 398. 
2 Ber. Deutsch. chem. Gesell., Berlin, Vol. XVII, p. 1911. 
8 Salzmann : Ber. Deutsch. chem. Gesell., Berlin, Vol. VII.p. 494. 
