Here are the two common binary compounds of phosphorus and chlorine:
* Phosphorus trichloride (PCl3): This compound is a colorless liquid with a pungent odor.
* Phosphorus pentachloride (PCl5): This compound is a white solid that readily hydrolyzes in water.
This ability to form multiple binary compounds with chlorine is due to phosphorus's ability to exhibit different oxidation states. In PCl3, phosphorus has an oxidation state of +3, while in PCl5, it has an oxidation state of +5.