ALLOTROPES OF PHOSPHORUS

White phosphorus, yellow phosphorus or simply tetraphosphorus (P4) exists

as molecules made up of four atoms in a tetrahedral structure. The tetrahedral arrangement
results in ring strain and instability. The molecule is described as consisting of six single
PP bonds. Two different crystalline forms are known. The form, which is stable under
standard conditions, has a body-centered cubic crystal structure. It transforms reversibly
into the form at 195.2 K. The form is believed to have a hexagonal crystal structure.
White phosphorus is a translucent waxy solid that quickly becomes yellow when exposed
to light. For this reason it is also called yellow phosphorus. It glows greenish in the dark
(when exposed to oxygen), is highly flammable and pyrophoric (self-igniting) upon
contact with air as well as toxic (causing severe liver damage on ingestion and phossy
jaw from chronic ingestion or inhalation). The odour of combustion of this form has a
characteristic garlic smell, and samples are commonly coated with white "diphosphorus
pentoxide", which consists of P4O10 tetrahedral with oxygen inserted between the phosphorus
atoms and at their vertices. White phosphorus is only slightly soluble in water and it can be stored
under water. Indeed, white phosphorus is only safe from self-igniting when it is submerged
in water. It is soluble in benzene, oils, carbon disulfide, and disulfur dichloride.
Red phosphorus may be formed by heating white phosphorus to 300 C (572 F) in the
absence of air or by exposing white phosphorus to sunlight. Red phosphorus exists as
an amorphous network. Upon further heating, the amorphous red phosphorus crystallizes.
Red phosphorus does not ignite in air at temperatures below 240 C (464 F), whereas
pieces of white phosphorus ignite at about 30 C (86 F). Ignition is spontaneous at room
temperature with finely divided material.
Monoclinic phosphorus, or violet phosphorus, is also known as Hittorf's metallic
phosphorus In 1865, Johann Wilhelm Hittorf heated red phosphorus in a sealed tube at
530 C. The upper part of the tube was kept at 444 C. Brilliant opaque monoclinic,
or rhombohedral, crystals sublime. Violet phosphorus can also be prepared by dissolving
white phosphorus in molten lead in a sealed tube at 500 C for 18 hours. Upon slow
cooling, Hittorf's allotrope crystallises out. The crystals can be revealed by dissolving the
lead in dilute nitric acid followed by boiling in concentrated hydrochloric acid. In addition,
a fibrous form exists with similar phosphorus cages.
Black phosphorus is the thermodynamically stable form of phosphorus at room
temperature and pressure. It is obtained by heating white phosphorus under high pressures
(12,000 atmospheres). In appearance, properties, and structure, black phosphorus is very
much like graphite with both being black and flaky, a conductor of electricity, and having
puckered sheets of linked atoms. Phonons, photons, and electrons in layered black
phosphorus structures behave in a highly anisotropic manner within the plane of layers,
exhibiting strong potential for applications to thin film electronics and infrared
optoelectronics.
Black phosphorus has an orthorhombic structure and is the least reactive allotrope, a result
of its lattice of interlinked six-membered rings where each atom is bonded to three other
 atoms. Black and red phosphorus can also take a cubic crystal lattice structure. A recent
synthesis of black phosphorus using metal salts as catalysts has been reported.
The similarities to graphite also include the possibility of scotch-tape delamination
(exfoliation), resulting in phosphorene, an anisotropic, graphene-like material with
excellent charge transport properties and high (~100 Wm1K1) thermal conductivity.
Exfoliated black phosphorus sublimes at 400 C in vacuum. It gradually oxidizes when
exposed to water in the presence of oxygen, which is a concern when contemplating it as a
material for the manufacture of transistors, for example.
The diphosphorus allotrope (P2) can normally be obtained only under extreme conditions
(for example, from P4 at 1100 kelvin). In 2006, the diatomic molecule was generated in
homogenous solution under normal conditions with the use of transition
metal complexes (for example, tungsten and niobium).
Diphosphorus is the gaseous form of phosphorus, and the thermodynamically stable form
between 1200 C and 2000 C. The dissociation of tetraphosphorus (P4) begins at lower
temperature: the percentage of P2 at 800 C is 1%. At temperatures above about 2000 C,
the diphosphorus molecule begins to dissociate into atomic phosphorus.
ALLOTROPES OF SULPHUR

Rhombic Sulphur:

It is an allotropic form of sulphur which is stable below 96 one molecule of rhombic sulphur
contains 8-atoms i-e 8g. The crystal of rhombic sulphur has octahedral structure.

Monoclinic Sulphur:

It is the allotropic form of sulphur which is stable between 96 to 119 a molecule of monoclinic
sulphur consists of eight sulphur atoms i-e 8g, but is different from rhombic sulphur in the
arrangement of atoms.

Plastic Sulphur:

It is a non crystalline allotropic form of sulphur, it can be stretched like a rubber, it is unstable and
changes into rhombic sulphur on slight heating even at room temperature it also changes.

ALLOTROPES OF OXYGEN
Atomic oxygen, denoted O(3P), O(3P) or O((3)P), is very reactive, as the single atoms of
oxygen tend to quickly bond with nearby molecules. On Earth's surface, it does not exist
naturally for very long, but in outer space, the presence of plenty of ultraviolet
radiation results in a low Earth orbit atmosphere in which 96% of the oxygen occurs in
atomic form.
The common allotrope of elemental oxygen on Earth, O2, is generally known as oxygen,
but may be called dioxygen or molecular oxygen to distinguish it from the element itself.
Elemental oxygen is most commonly encountered in this form, as about 21% (by volume)
of Earth's atmosphere. The ground state of dioxygen is known as triplet oxygen because it
has two unpaired electrons. The first excited state, singlet oxygen, has no unpaired
 electrons and is metastable. Liquid oxygen is pale blue in colour, and is quite
markedly paramagneticliquid oxygen contained in a flask suspended by a string is
attracted to a magnet.
Singlet oxygen is the common name used for the two metastable states of
molecular oxygen (O2) with higher energy than the ground state triplet oxygen. Because of
the differences in their electron shells, singlet oxygen has different chemical properties
than triplet oxygen, including absorbing and emitting light at different wavelengths. It can
be generated in a photosensitized process by energy transfer from dye molecules such
as rose bengal, methylene blue or porphyrins, or by chemical processes such as
spontaneous decomposition of hydrogen trioxide in water or the reaction of hydrogen
peroxide with hypochlorite.
Triatomic oxygen (Ozone, O3), is a very reactive allotrope of oxygen that is destructive
to materials like rubber and fabrics and is also damaging to lung tissue.[5] Traces of it can
be detected as a sharp, chlorine-like smell, coming from electric motors, laser printers,
and photocopiers. It was named "ozone" by Christian Friedrich Schnbein, in 1840, from
the Greek word (ozo) for smell.
Ozone is thermodynamically unstable toward the more common dioxygen form, and is
formed by reaction of O2 with atomic oxygen produced by splitting of O2 by UV radiation
in the upper atmosphere. Ozone absorbs strongly in the ultraviolet and functions as a shield
for the biosphere against the mutagenic and other damaging effects of solar UV
radiation (see ozone layer). Ozone is formed near the Earth's surface by the photochemical
disintegration of nitrogen dioxide from the exhaust of automobiles. Ground-level ozone is
an air pollutant that is especially harmful for senior citizens, children, and people with heart
and lung conditions such as emphysema, bronchitis, and asthma. The immune
system produces ozone as an antimicrobial (see below). Liquid and solid O3 have a deeper
blue color than ordinary oxygen and they are unstable and explosive.
Ozone is a pale blue gas condensable to a dark blue liquid. It is formed whenever air is
subjected to an electrical discharge, and has the characteristic pungent odour of new-
mown hay, or for those living in urban environments, of subways the so-called
'electrical odour'.
Tetraoxygen had been suspected to exist since the early 1900s, when it was known as
oxozone. It was identified in 2001 by a team, led by F. Cacace, at the University of
Rome.The molecule O4 was thought to be in one of the phases of solid oxygen later
identified as O8. Cacace's team suggested that O4 probably consists of two dumbbell-
like O2 molecules loosely held together by induced dipole dispersion forces.
There are six known distinct phases of solid oxygen. One of them is a dark-red O8 cluster.
When oxygen is subjected to a pressure of 96 GPa, it becomes metallic, in a similar manner
as hydrogen, and becomes more similar to the heavier chalcogens, such
as tellurium and polonium, both of which show significant metallic character. At very low
temperatures, this phase also becomes superconducting.