Uranyl zinc acetate is a compound of uranium

Uranium

Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...

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Uranyl zinc acetate is used as a laboratory reagent in the determination of sodium

Sodium

Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...

 concentrations of solutions using a method of quantitatively precipitating sodium with uranyl zinc acetate and gravimetrically

Gravimetric analysis

Gravimetric analysis describes a set of methods in analytical chemistry for the quantitative determination of an analyte based on the mass of a solid...

 determining the sodium as uranyl zinc sodium acetate, (UO₂)₂ZnNa(CH₃CO₂)·6H₂O. The presence of caesium and rubidium does not interfere with this reaction, but the presence of potassium and lithium must be removed prior to analysis.

This method was important to determine Na in urine

Urine

Urine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...

 for diagnostic

Medical diagnosis

Medical diagnosis refers both to the process of attempting to determine or identify a possible disease or disorder , and to the opinion reached by this process...

 purposes. Zinc uranyl acetate is sometimes called "sodium reagent" since pale yellow NaZn(UO₂)₃(C₂H₃O₂)₉ is one of the very few insoluble sodium compounds.

Laboratory use

Uranyl zinc acetate has been used as a catalyst for converting dimethyl carbonate

Dimethyl carbonate

Dimethyl carbonate, often abbreviated DMC, a carbonate ester, is a flammable clear liquid boiling at 90 °C. This compound has found use as a methylating agent and more recently as a VOC exempt solvent in paints and adhesives . There is also interest in using this compound as a fuel oxygenate...

 into toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI).