New Evidence Concerning the Structure of Amorphous Red Phosphorus

摘要

One of the unsolved problems of the structural chemistry of elemental phosphorus is the structure of amorphous red phosphorus, a material found on nearly every matchbox for more than 150 years. Since an X-ray structural characterization of this material has not been possible, our knowledge derives from indirect evidence, which is providing more and more precise information about the structural principles of this phosphorus modification. Two important contributions in this respect are the recently published results of Bocker and Haser as well as those of Pfitzner and Freudenthaler. The combination of their results with the findings of earlier investigations allows a model of the structure of amorphous red phosphorus to be established that seems to benot far from reality.