Basic beryllium acetate
Encyclopedia
Basic beryllium acetate is the chemical compound
Chemical compound
A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...

 with the formula Be4O(O2CCH3)6. Although this compound
Chemical compound
A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...

 has no applications and has been only lightly studied, it adopts a distinctive structure. "Basic acetates" consist of an ensemble of metal atoms, a central oxide atom, and an exterior of acetate groups. Another family of basic acetates are trimetallic with the formula M3O(O2CCH3)6(H2O)3 (M = Cr, Fe, Ru). Mixed metal members of this family also exist.

Preparation

To prepare Be4O(O2CCH3)6, basic beryllium carbonate is treated with hot acetic acid
Acetic acid
Acetic acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH3CO2H . It is a colourless liquid that when undiluted is also called glacial acetic acid. Acetic acid is the main component of vinegar , and has a distinctive sour taste and pungent smell...

. The basic berylium acetate is insoluble in water but soluble in chloroform
Chloroform
Chloroform is an organic compound with formula CHCl3. It is one of the four chloromethanes. The colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid is a trihalomethane, and is considered somewhat hazardous...

, consistent with it being nonpolar. It melts and sublimes in a vacuum without decomposition.

Structure

The structure of Be4O(O2CCH3)6 is relevant to its considerable stability. It is diamondoid
Diamondoid
A diamondoid, in the context of building materials for nanotechnology components, most generally refers to structures that resemble diamond in a broad sense: namely, strong, stiff structures containing dense, 3-D networks of covalent bonds, formed chiefly from first and second row atoms with a...

, consisting of interlocking six-membered Be2O3C rings. The structure of this compound has been examined by two famous crystallography laboratories.
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