Barium chloride
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Other names
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Identifiers | |
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3D model (
JSmol ) |
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ChemSpider | |
ECHA InfoCard
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100.030.704 |
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PubChem CID
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RTECS number
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UNII |
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UN number | 1564 |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
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Properties | |
BaCl2 | |
Molar mass | 208.23 g/mol (anhydrous) 244.26 g/mol (dihydrate) |
Appearance | White powder, or colourless or white crystals (anhydrous) Colourless rhomboidal crystals (dihydrate)[2][3] |
Odor | Odourless |
Density | 3.856 g/cm3 (anhydrous) 3.0979 g/cm3 (dihydrate) |
Melting point | 962 °C (1,764 °F; 1,235 K) (960 °C, dihydrate) |
Boiling point | 1,560 °C (2,840 °F; 1,830 K) |
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Solubility | Soluble in methanol, insoluble ethyl acetate, slightly soluble in hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, very slightly soluble in ethanol.[4][3] The dihydrate of barium chloride is soluble in methanol, almost insoluble in ethanol, acetone and ethyl acetate.[3] |
−72.6·10−6 cm3/mol | |
Structure | |
monoclinic (dihydrate)
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Thermochemistry | |
Std molar
entropy (S⦵298) |
123.9 J/(mol·K) |
Std enthalpy of (ΔfH⦵298)formation |
−858.56 kJ/mol |
Hazards | |
Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH): | |
Main hazards
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Highly toxic, corrosive |
GHS labelling: | |
Danger | |
H301, H302, H332 | |
P261, P264, P270, P271, P301+P310, P304+P312, P304+P340, P312, P321, P330, P405, P501 | |
NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |
Flash point | Non-flammable |
Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC): | |
LD50 (median dose)
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78 mg/kg (rat, oral) 50 mg/kg (guinea pig, oral)[6] |
LDLo (lowest published)
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112 mg/kg (as Ba) (rabbit, oral) 59 mg/kg (as Ba) (dog, oral) 46 mg/kg (as Ba) (mouse, oral)[6] |
NIOSH (US health exposure limits): | |
PEL (Permissible)
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TWA 0.5 mg/m3[5] |
REL (Recommended)
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TWA 0.5 mg/m3[5] |
IDLH (Immediate danger) |
50 mg/m3[5] |
Safety data sheet (SDS) | NIH BaCl |
Related compounds | |
Other anions
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Other cations
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Supplementary data page | |
Barium chloride (data page) | |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Barium chloride is an
Preparation
On an industrial scale, barium chloride is prepared via a two step process from
- BaSO4 + 4 C → BaS + 4 CO
The second step requires reaction between barium sulfide and hydrogen chloride:
- BaS + 2 HCl → BaCl2 + H2S
or between barium sulfide and calcium chloride:
- BaS + CaCl2 → CaS + BaCl2[2]
In place of HCl, chlorine can be used.[7] Barium chloride is extracted out from the mixture with water. From water solutions of barium chloride, its dihydrate (BaCl2·2H2O) can be crystallized as colorless crystals.[2]
Barium chloride can in principle be prepared by the reaction between barium hydroxide or barium carbonate with hydrogen chloride. These basic salts react with hydrochloric acid to give hydrated barium chloride.
- Ba(OH)2 + 2 HCl → BaCl2 + 2 H2O
- BaCO3 + 2 HCl → BaCl2 + H2O + CO2
Structure and properties
BaCl2 crystallizes in two forms (
In aqueous solution BaCl2 behaves as a simple
- BaCl2 + Na2SO4 → 2 NaCl + BaSO4
This precipitation reaction is used in
Oxalate effects a similar reaction:
When it is mixed with sodium hydroxide, it gives barium hydroxide, which is moderately soluble in water.
- BaCl2 + 2 NaOH → 2 NaCl + Ba(OH)2
BaCl2·2H2O is stable in the air at room temperature, but loses one water of crystallization above 55 °C (131 °F), becoming BaCl2·H2O, and becomes anhydrous above 121 °C (250 °F).[2] BaCl2·H2O may be formed by shaking the dihydrate with methanol.[3]
BaCl2 readily forms
Uses
Although inexpensive, barium chloride finds limited applications in the laboratory and industry.
Its main laboratory use is as a reagent for the gravimetric determination of sulfates. The sulfate compound being analyzed is dissolved in water and hydrochloric acid is added. When barium chloride solution is added, the sulfate present precipitates as barium sulfate, which is then filtered through ashless filter paper. The paper is burned off in a muffle furnace, the resulting barium sulfate is weighed, and the purity of the sulfate compound is thus calculated.
In industry, barium chloride is mainly used in the purification of brine solution in caustic chlorine plants and also in the manufacture of heat treatment salts, case hardening of steel.[7] It is also used to make red pigments such as Lithol red and Red Lake C. Its toxicity limits its applicability.[citation needed]
Toxicity
Barium chloride, along with other water-soluble barium salts, is highly toxic.
Barium chloride is not classified as a human carcinogen.[3]
References
- ^ Chemical Recreations: A Series of Amusing and Instructive Experiments, which May be Performed with Ease, Safety, Success, and Economy ; to which is Added, the Romance of Chemistry : An Inquiry into the Fallacies of the Prevailing Theory of Chemistry : With a New Theory and a New Nomenclature. R. Griffin & Company. 1834.
- ^ a b c d "Barium Chloride - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics".
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Barium chloride".
- ^ Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 71st edition, CRC Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1990.
- ^ a b c NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards. "#0045". National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
- ^ a b "Barium (soluble compounds, as Ba)". Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Concentrations (IDLH). National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
- ^ ISBN 978-3527306732.
- ISBN 978-0-08-037941-8.
- ISSN 0021-8979.
- ISBN 0-19-855370-6.
- .
- .
- .
- ^ The Merck Index, 7th edition, Merck & Co., Rahway, New Jersey, 1960.