Scientists cage chemical demon

June 25, 2009

A Cambridge University-led research team has discovered a technique to safely handle and transport white phosphorous.

For centuries it has been known for its violent combustion upon contact with air - but this week a Cambridge-led team of researchers reveals that it has tamed one of the most hazardous chemical substances.

Their work could also result in an array of hazardous chemicals being handled and transported more safely in future.

The substance in question is white phosphorous, a feedstock for the preparation of many useful chemicals such as weed killers, insecticides and fertiliser.

White phosphorous is also infamous for its propensity to burst into flame. For this reason it is often used in military campaigns to create smokescreens to mask movement from the enemy, as well as an incendiary in bombs, artillery and mortars.

This research, published this week in the journal Science, was carried out by a team consisting of Prasenjit Mal, Boris Breiner and senior author Jonathan Nitschke at the University of Cambridge's Department of Chemistry, together with Kari Rissanen from the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland.

The team created a 'container molecule' to stabilise white phosphorous indefinitely. This renders it safe until such time as a signal agent, benzene, is applied to release it.

The practical implications of the research are impressive: the technique of 'caging' individual molecules of the substance allows it to be manipulated and stored with greater safety, and has the potential to be used to tame other dangerous chemicals.

Dr Nitschke says: "It is foreseeable that our technique might be used to clean up a white phosphorous spill, either as part of an industrial accident or in a war zone. In addition to its ability to inflict grievous harm while burning, white phosphorous is very toxic and poses a major environmental hazard."

Source: University of Cambridge (news : web)


print this article email this article download pdf blog this article bookmark this article     Stumble it Digg this share on Facebook retweet share on Reddit add to delicious
Rate this story - 4 /5 (6 votes)

Rank Filter

Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

  • shylove - Jun 25, 2009
    • Rank: 3 / 5 (2)
    And if it could be used to keep white phosphorus weapons from burning innoicent civilians or enemy combatants that would be good too.
  • PaulLove - Jun 25, 2009
    • Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
    Hmm it would seem that the innocent civilians are feeding and supplying weapons to the enemy combatants and it is to be assumed that as you lable a group enemy combatants you might at least theoretically want them dead or why referr to them as enemy combantants as opposed to boon companions.
  • Chocolate_Bacon - Jun 25, 2009
    • Rank: not rated yet
    Benzene just solves so many problems, wonderful stuff.
  • otto1923 - Jun 25, 2009
    • Rank: 1 / 5 (1)
    In 'nam this young girl threw a hat grenade into a Huey down below us so I iced the b--- no wait, that was a movie-
  • otto1923 - Jun 25, 2009
    • Rank: not rated yet
    Benzene!!!!!!! -Rammstein
  • KBK - Jun 25, 2009
    • Rank: 1 / 5 (3)
    Oddly enough, the guy actually died in that 'faked' film shot. The film was 'Apocalypse Now', as you might guess. Whoops!..on that particular film stunt. It happens! FYI: They kept the shot in the film.

    But the reality is that the most recent use of White phosphorus was by the illegal occupational illegal bandit government of the country of Palestine, on it's -REAL- owners and citizens: The Palestinians. It was their land for over 2000 years, and the people occupying it are bunch of Caucasians who were never even genetically conceived anywhere near the middle east. What a psychotic cock-up of a driven agenda.

    The whole thing is a NWO game, anyway. Create strife and division; work people against each other. Most dumb schmucks on the streets can't see that basic fact, which is why it works on them..and is always used.
  • otto1923 - Jun 25, 2009
    • Rank: not rated yet
    There are no innocent civilians- god knows his own.
  • otto1923 - Jun 25, 2009
    • Rank: not rated yet
    Actually, let me see... The Levant belonged to the Jews for awhile but then the babylonians and Hittites had it, then the Persians owned it until the Greeks took it away. The Phoenicians were owners, and of course the Romans, and the Egyptians occupied it for awhile. There were the crusaders and the mongols and the British, and the Arabs. And all the while who knows who the Palestinians were but certainly they interbred with the lot of them. Probably the Sea People from g_d knows where (I am not Kazar). Hard to lay claim to a bridge. Why not share it?
  • otto1923 - Jun 25, 2009
    • Rank: not rated yet
    Let's not forget the Turks-
  • lysdexia - Jul 03, 2009
    • Rank: not rated yet
    black and red fosforus are safe; why not convert?

June 25, 2009 all stories

Comments: 10

4 /5 (6 votes)
  • Stumble this up

  • Digg this

  • share this

  • hide
  • Related Stories




  • hide
  • Relevant PhysicsForums posts

  • Materials that bond with Calcium Fluoride?
    created 1hour ago
  • help me please !!!!
    created 8 hours ago
  • Zinc Oxide reduction
    created 19 hours ago
  • depolymerization of HDPE
    created Nov 08, 2009
  • More from Physics Forums - Chemistry

Other News

H1N1 Virus Can Be Killed by Acidic Ozone Water

H1N1 Virus Can Be Killed by Acidic Ozone Water

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created 5 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (9) | comments 5

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have found that acidic ozone water can deactivate H1N1 viruses very effectively, offering a promising disinfectant for the millions of people trying to avoid the disease. Acidic ...


Wet ethanol production process yields more ethanol and more co-products

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created 4 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Using a wet ethanol production method that begins by soaking corn kernels rather than grinding them, results in more gallons of ethanol and more usable co-products, giving ethanol producers a bigger bang for their buck - ...


Look ma, no mercury in fillings!

Chemistry / Materials Science

created 4 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Tooth enamel is hardest material in the human body because it's made almost entirely of minerals. As tough as it may be, however, enamel can be broken down by bacteria, forming cavities and eventually destroying the tooth. ...


Toward home-brewed electricity with 'personalized solar energy'

Toward home-brewed electricity with 'personalized solar energy'

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Nov 04, 2009 | popularity 3.4 / 5 (9) | comments 4

New scientific discoveries are moving society toward the era of "personalized solar energy," in which the focus of electricity production shifts from huge central generating stations to individuals in their ...


Scientists Reproduce a Building Block of Life in Laboratory

Scientists Reproduce a Building Block of Life in Laboratory

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Nov 06, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (25) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA scientists studying the origin of life have reproduced uracil, a key component of our hereditary material, in the laboratory.