Barium chlorate
Encyclopedia
Barium chlorate is a white crystalline solid
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...

. It is an irritant
Irritation
Irritation or exacerbation, in biology and physiology, is a state of inflammation or painful reaction to allergy or cell-lining damage. A stimulus or agent which induces the state of irritation is an irritant...

, as are all barium compounds. If consumed, barium chlorate can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. It is used in pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...

 to produce a green color. A powerful oxidizing agent
Oxidizing agent
An oxidizing agent can be defined as a substance that removes electrons from another reactant in a redox chemical reaction...

, the compound is used to manufacture explosives and matches.

Synthesis

Barium chlorate can be produced through a double replacement reaction of barium chloride
Barium chloride
Barium chloride is the inorganic compound with the formula BaCl2. It is one of the most common water-soluble salts of barium. Like other barium salts, it is toxic and imparts a yellow-green coloration to a flame. It is also hygroscopic....

 and sodium chlorate
Sodium chlorate
Sodium chlorate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . When pure, it is a white crystalline powder that is readily soluble in water. It is hygroscopic. It decomposes above 250 °C to release oxygen and leave sodium chloride...

.
  • BaCl2 + 2 NaClO3 → Ba(ClO3)2 + 2 NaCl


It can also be produced through a more complicated non-electrolytic
Electrolysis
In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a method of using a direct electric current to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction...

 process.
  1. BaCl2 + Na2CO3 → BaCO3 + 2 NaCl or BaCl2 + 2 NaHCO3 → BaCO3 + 2 NaCl + H2O + CO2 — In this step barium carbonate
    Barium carbonate
    Barium carbonate , also known as witherite, is a chemical compound used in rat poison, bricks, ceramic glazes and cement.Witherite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system...

     is produced, which will be used later.
  2. C4H6O6 + NH4OH → NH4C4H5O6 + H2O — in this step ammonium bitartrate is produced.
  3. NH4C4H5O6 + KClO3 → KC4H5O6 + NH4ClO3 — in this step, the ammonium bitartrate is added to potassium chlorate, which produces potassium bitartrate, but more importantly, ammonium chlorate
    Ammonium chlorate
    Ammonium chlorate is an inorganic compound with the formula NH4ClO3.It is obtained by neutralizing chloric acid with either ammonia or ammonium carbonate, or by precipitating barium, strontium or calcium chlorates with ammonium carbonate or ammonium sulfate, producing the respective carbonate or...

    .
  4. 2 NH4ClO3 + BaCO3 + Q → Ba(ClO3)2 + 2 NH3 + H2O + CO2 — in this step, the ammonium chlorate is added to the barium carbonate and boiled, to produce barium chlorate.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK