Given: PH₃(g) $\rightarrow$P₄(s),Basic solution. How many electrons appear in the balanced half-reaction?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In the balanced half-reaction for the conversion of PH3 to P4 in a basic solution, each phosphorus atom in PH3 is oxidized from -3 to 0 oxidation state. Since there are 4 phosphorus atoms in P4, the total change in oxidation state is 12 (4 atoms x 3 electrons each), requiring 12 electrons.

Given: PH3(g) →\rightarrow→ P4(s),Basic Solution

Given: PH₃(g) $\rightarrow$ P₄(s),Basic Solution