Abundance and distribution

Because of the great importance of phosphorus and its compounds in the chemical industry, several books and reviews on their preparation and uses are available.Some of these applications reflect the fact that P is a vital element for the growth and development of all plants and animals and is therefore an important constituent in many fertilizers. Phosphorus compounds are involved in energy transfer 

Grifhth, R. W. Parry and L. D. Quin (eds.), Phosphorus Chemistry Developments in American Science, ACS Symposium Series No. 486, 1992, 

Phosphorus is the eleventh element in order of abundance in crustal rocks of the earth and it occurs there to the extent of 1120 ppm (cf. H 1520 ppm, Mn 1060 ppm). All its known terrestrial minerals are orthophosphates though the reduced phosphide mineral schrieber-site (Fe,Ni)3P occurs in most iron meteorites. Some 200 crystalline phosphate minerals have been described, but by far the major amount of P occurs in a single mineral family, the apatites, and these are the only ones of industrial importance, the others being rare curiosities. Apatites (p. 523) have the idealized general formula 3Ca3(P04)2.CaX2, that is Caio(P04)6X2, and common members are fluorapatite Ca5(P04)3p, chloroapatite Ca5(P04)3Cl, and hydroxyapatite Ca5(P04)3(0H). In addition, there are vast deposits of amorphous phosphate rock, phosphorite, which approximates in composition to fluoroapatite. These deposits are widely 

Portugal and J. S. Cohen, A Century of DNA. A History of the Discovery of the Structure and Function of the Genetic Substance, MIT Press, Littleton, Mass., 1977, 384 pp. 

Nriagu and P. B. Moore (eds.). Phosphate Minerals, Springer Verlag, Berlin, 1984, 442 pp. 

Note Becau. ie of the very low m.wi of NH j, the number of moles of this compound produced (1.06 X I0 ) is 2.4 limes greater than that of HiSOj (0,448 X lo ). Similarly the number of moles of N2 produced 1.30 x 10 ) is 2.9 times that of HiSO.  

1772 N2O prepared by J. Priestley who also showed it supported combu.stion 

1774 NH3 gas isolated by Priestley using mercury in a pneumatic trough. 

1809 First donor-acceptor adduct (coordination compound) NH3.BF3 prepared by J. L. Gay Lussac (A. Werner s theory, 1891-5). 

1811 NCh prepared by P. L. Dulong who lost an eye and three fingers studying its properties. 

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