High-Pressure Chemistry of Red Phosphorus and Water under Near-UV Irradiation

A high-pressure job: Under high-pressure conditions, within a diamond anvil cell, irradiation of red phosphorus (see scheme, orange) and water was found to lead to a reaction that gives H2, PH3, H3PO2, H3PO4, and H3PO4 (H gray, O red, P orange). This reaction can be easily monitored using Raman spectroscopy and presents an interesting method for H2 generation.