15 - Phosphorus polyatomic nonmetal

Discovered by Hennig Brand in 1669

  • Atomic Radius (Å)
  • Cividis
Phosphorus

Phosphorus is a chemical element with symbol P and atomic number 15. As an element, phosphorus exists in two major forms—white phosphorus and red phosphorus—but due to its high reactivity, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Earth. Instead phosphorus-containing minerals are almost always present in their maximally oxidised state, as inorganic phosphate rocks.

H He Li Be B C N O F Ne Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe Cs Ba La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn Fr Ra Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Cn Nh Fl Mc Lv Ts Og
57-71 La-Lu Lanthanides
89-103 Ac-Lr Actinides
 Shell Electrons Orbitals
122 in 1s
282 in 2s + 6 in 2p
352 in 3s + 3 in 3p
PhosphorusPElectron 1Electron 2Electron 1Electron 2Electron 3Electron 4Electron 5Electron 6Electron 7Electron 8Electron 1Electron 2Electron 3Electron 4Electron 5
colourless, waxy white, yellow, scarlet, red, violet, black Appearance
31  u Atomic Mass
1  Å Atomic Radius
553  K Boiling Point
15 Group
-3, 3, 5 Common Oxidation States
1.07  Å Covalent Radius
1.82  g/cm³ Density
72  kJ/mol Electron Affinity
1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p3 Electron Configuration
[Ne] 3s2 3p3 Electron Configuration (semantic)
2.19 Electronegativity
15 Electrons
10.5  eV First Ionization Energy
-3, -2, -1, 3, 4, 5 ICSD Oxidation States
1011.8, 1907, 2914.1, 4963.6, 6273.9, 21267, 25431, 29872, 35905, 40950, 46261, 54110, 59024, 271791, 296195  kJ/mol Ionization Energies
317  K Melting Point
90 Mendeleev Number
23.8  J/(mol·K) Molar Heat
3 Number of Shells
5 Electron Valency
16 Neutrons
15 Atomic Number
7 Number of Isotopes
-3, -2, -1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Oxidation States
3 Period
Solid Phase
15 Protons
2, 8, 5 Electron Shell Occupations
0.769  J/(g K) Specific Heat