Phosphorus dioxide () is a gaseous
oxide of phosphorus. It is a
free radical that plays a role in the
chemiluminescence
Chemiluminescence (also chemoluminescence) is the emission of light (luminescence) as the result of a chemical reaction. There may also be limited emission of heat. Given reactants A and B, with an excited intermediate ◊,
: + -> lozenge -> ...
of
phosphorus and
phosphine.
It is produced when phosphates are heated to high temperatures.
In the
ground state
The ground state of a quantum-mechanical system is its stationary state of lowest energy; the energy of the ground state is known as the zero-point energy of the system. An excited state is any state with energy greater than the ground state. ...
the molecule is bent, like
nitrogen dioxide, but there is an excited state that is linear.
References
{{inorganic-compound-stub
Phosphorus oxides
Free radicals