Ammonium phosphate is the
salt of
ammonium and
phosphate. It is a highly unstable compound with the
formula (NH
4)
3PO
4. Because of its instability, it is an elusive and of no commercial value (except for scientific research). In addition to (NH
4)
3PO
4, a related double salt (NH
4)
3PO
4.(NH
4)
2HPO
4 is also recognized. It too is unstable. The instability of these salts results of their facile decomposition with evolution of
ammonia:
- (NH4)3PO4 → H(NH4)2PO4 + NH3
In contrast to the fragile nature of the triammonium salts,
diammonium phosphate (H(NH
4)
2PO
4) is a valuable material, mainly used as a fertilizer.