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Question

The basicity of H3PO2 is ___

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Solution

Let us look at the structure of the given acid:

As you can see, two of the three Hydrogen atoms are directly attached to the Phosphorus atom. So phosphinic acid (another name) forms only one salt - hyphosphites or H2PO2
Industrially, it is prepared by a two-step method. With a suitable hot aqueous solution of an alkali, white phosphorusP4 produces hyphosphite ions and Phosphine PH3.This is a disproportionation reaction where the elemental white Phosphorus (oxidation state - 0) is oxidized to hypophosphite (+1 oxidation state) and reduced to Phosphine (-3 oxidation state).
P4+3OH+3H2O3[H2PO2]+PH3
When this hyphosphite salt is treated with a stronger acid, H3PO2 is obtained
[H2PO2]+H+H3PO2
Alternatively, when we oxidize PH3 using Iodine water H3PO2 is formed:
PH3+2l2+2H2OH3PO2+4l+4H+


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