Barium acetate ( Ba( C₂ H₃ O₂)₂) is the

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

of barium(II) and acetic acid. Barium acetate is toxic to humans, but has use in chemistry and manufacturing.

Preparation

Barium acetate is generally produced by the reaction of acetic acid with

barium carbonate Barium carbonate is the inorganic compound with the formula BaCO3. Like most alkaline earth metal carbonates, it is a white salt that is poorly soluble in water. It occurs as the mineral known as witherite. In a commercial sense, it is one of ...

:Barium acetate
, hillakomem.com, retrieved 30 June 2009 :BaCO₃ + 2CH₃COOH → (CH₃COO)₂Ba + CO₂ + H₂O The reaction is performed in solution and the barium acetate crystalizes out at temperatures above 41 °C. Between 25 and 40 °C, the monohydrate version crystalizes. Alternatively,

barium sulfide Barium sulfide is the inorganic compound with the formula Ba S. BaS is the barium compound produced on the largest scale. It is an important precursor to other barium compounds including BaCO3 and the pigment lithopone, ZnS/BaSO4. Like other ...

can be used: :Ba S + 2CH₃COOH → (CH₃COO)₂Ba + H₂S Again, the solvent is evaporated off and the barium acetate crystallized.

Properties

Barium acetate is a white powder, which is highly soluble: at 0 °C, 55.8 g of barium acetate can be dissolved in 100 g of water. It decomposes upon heating into barium carbonate.

Reactions

When heated in air, barium acetate decomposes to the carbonate. It reacts with acids: reaction with sulfuric acid,

hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride. It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid Acid strength is the tendency of an acid, symbol ...

and

nitric acid Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available nitri ...

give the

sulfate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ...

chloride The chloride ion is the anion (negatively charged ion) Cl−. It is formed when the element chlorine (a halogen) gains an electron or when a compound such as hydrogen chloride is dissolved in water or other polar solvents. Chloride sa ...

and nitrate respectively.

Uses

Barium acetate is used as a

mordant A mordant or dye fixative is a substance used to set (i.e. bind) dyes on fabrics by forming a coordination complex with the dye, which then attaches to the fabric (or tissue). It may be used for dyeing fabrics or for intensifying stains in ...

for printing textile fabrics, for drying paints and varnishes and in lubricating oil. In chemistry, it is used in the preparation of other acetates; and as a

catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

in organic synthesis.

In pop culture

Barium Acetate was featured in a 2001 episode of the television series ''

Forensic Files ''Forensic Files'', originally known as ''Medical Detectives'', is an American documentary television program that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness. The show was orig ...

'', recounting the 1993 murder of a man by his teenage daughter ( Marie Robards), though the episode and other crime documentary shows examining the Robards case excluded the mention of barium acetate. Barium Acetate was featured in a 2014 episode of the crime documentary series '' Redrum.'' Barium acetate was named as the choice poison of a teen's murder of her father in Deadly Women "Parents Peril", S6 E2.

Preparation

Properties

Reactions

Uses

In pop culture

References

Further reading