17 Phosphorus Pentachloride Uses : Facts You Should Know!

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PCl5 (phosphorus pentachloride) is one of the important chlorides of phosphorus, the others being PCl3 and POCl3. Let us learn some industrial uses of PCl5 in this article.

The industries which are using PCl5 are listed below:

  • Chemical reagent
  • Convertor
  • Catalysis
  • Electronics
  • Analytical chemistry
  • Flame retardant
  • Water processing
  • Material science
  • Surface processing
  • Agrochemical

We will learn key uses of PCl5 in chemical, catalysis, electronics, water processing, material science, agrochemical and surface processing industries with the help of this article.

Chemical reagent

  • Phosphorus pentachloride (PCl5) is primarily used as a chlorinating agent in organic chemistry.
  • PCl5 As a dehydrator during the production of phosphorus acid, an important intermediate.
  • PCl5 works well as a reagent for the preparation of compounds containing phosphorus which are applied in the field of agrochemicals.
  • PCl5 is the starting material for synthesizing other chlorine-containing compounds such as phosphorus trichloride (PCl3) and phosphorus oxychloride (POCl3).
  • Ionic crystals and catalysts of phosphonium are prepared using PCl5.
  • PCl5 produce phosphoryl, which is an intermediate formed during the synthesis of organophosphorus compounds.

Convertor

  • PCl5 convert alkanols and carboxylic acids into their corresponding alkyl and acyl chlorides.
  • Alkenes and aromatic compounds are converted into their corresponding chlorinated derivatives using PCl5.

Catalysis

PCl5 is a Lewis acid catalyst in various organic reactions such as the Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation reactions.

Electronics

PCl5 manufacture semiconductor materials such as gallium phosphide (GaP) and indium phosphide (InP).

Analytical chemistry

PCl5 is a source of chlorine ions and is used for detecting various elements or as a chlorinating agent for the sample preparation.

Flame retardant

PCl5 in producing flame-retardant materials, such as certain plastics and other materials.

Water processing

PCl5 for purification of water, to remove bacteria and other microorganisms. PCl5 can also be used for the chlorination of water, wastewater and sewage.

Material Science

PCl5 in etching various types of semiconductors, ceramics and glass.

Surface processing

  • PCl5 to clean and etch metal surfaces and other surfaces like glass, ceramics and semiconductors.
  • PCl5 for providing surface coatings, surface modification and surface cleaning in various fields.

Agrochemical

In the agrochemical industry, PCl5 plays an important role in herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides.

Conclusion

This article concludes that PCl5 is mostly applied in chemistry and chemical reactions. However, it is also used in electronic parts like semiconductor devices. We can expect other uses of PCl5 to be found in the future.