Cobalt nitrate is the inorganic compound with the formula Co(NO3)2.xH2O. It is cobalt(II)'s salt. The most common form is the hexahydrate Co(NO3)2·6H2O, which is a red-brown deliquescent salt that is soluble in water and other polar solvents.[2]
Composition and structures
As well as the anhydrous compound Co(NO3)2, several hydrates of cobalt(II) nitrate exist. These hydrates have the chemical formula Co(NO3)2·nH2O, where n = 0, 2, 4, 6.
Anhydrous cobalt(II) nitrate adopts a three-dimensional polymeric network structure, with each cobalt(II) atom approximately octahedrally coordinated by six oxygen atoms, each from a different nitrate ion. Each nitrate ion coordinates to three cobalts.[3] The dihydrate is a two-dimensional polymer, with nitrate bridges between Co(II) centres and hydrogen bonding holding the layers together.[4] The tetrahydrate consists of discrete, octahedral [(H2O)4Co(NO3)2] molecules. The hexahydrate is better described as hexaaquacobalt(II) nitrate, [Co(OH2)6][NO3]2, as it consists of discrete [Co(OH2)6]2+ and [NO3]− ions.[5] Above 55 °C, the hexahydrate converts to the trihydrate and at higher temperatures to the monohydrate.[2]
Co(NO3)2
Co(NO3)2·2H2O
Co(NO3)2·4H2O
Co(NO3)2·6H2O
Uses and reactions
It is commonly reduced to metallic high purity cobalt.[2] It can be absorbed on to various catalyst supports for use in Fischer–Tropsch catalysis.[6] It is used in the preparation of dyes and inks.[7]
Cobalt(II) nitrate is a common starting material for the preparation of coordination complexes such as cobaloximes,[8] carbonatotetraamminecobalt(III),[9] and others.[10]
Production
The hexahydrate is prepared treating metallic cobalt or one of its oxides, hydroxides, or carbonate with nitric acid:
^Hargens, Robert D.; Min, Woonza; Henney, Robert C. (1973). "Bis(ethylenediamine)sulfito Complexes of Cobalt(III)". Inorganic Syntheses. Inorganic Syntheses. pp. 77–81. doi:10.1002/9780470132456.ch15. ISBN9780470132456.
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