Basic oxides are oxides that show basic properties in opposition to

acidic oxide An acidic oxide is an oxide that either produces an acidic solution upon addition to water, or acts as an acceptor of hydroxide ions effectively functioning as a Lewis acid. Acidic oxides will typically have a low pKa and may be inorganic or org ...

s and that either *react with

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

to form a base; or *react with an acid to form a

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 ...

and water which are called neutralization reactions.

Etymology

"Basic oxides" is a compound of the words "Basic" and "oxides". The word oxides referred to the chemical compounds that one or more oxygen atoms combined with another element such as H₂O or CO₂. Based on their acid-base characteristics oxides can be classified into four categories: acidic oxides, basic oxides, and

amphoteric In chemistry, an amphoteric compound () is a molecule or ion that can react both as an acid and as a base. What exactly this can mean depends on which definitions of acids and bases are being used. One type of amphoteric species are amphipro ...

oxides and neutral oxides. Basic oxides, can also called base anhydrides which means "a base without water", are usually formed by reacting of oxygen with metals, especially alkali (+1 oxidation state) and

alkaline earth The alkaline earth metals are six chemical elements in group 2 of the periodic table. They are beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), and radium (Ra).. The elements have very similar properties: they are al ...

metals (+2 oxidation state). Both of them are ionic oxide and can dissolve in water to form basic solutions of the

metal hydroxide Metal hydroxides are hydroxides of metals. They are often strong bases. They consist of hydroxide anions and metallic cations. Some metal hydroxides, such as alkali metal hydroxides, ionize completely when dissolved. Certain metal hydroxides ar ...

, whereas non-metals usually form

s. Basic oxide Li₂O becomes base LiOH and BaO becomes Ba(OH)₂ after react with water. In general, basicity of their oxides increases when the elements located downward at the left side of a periodic table (group 1 & 2), as the element become more metallic. Alkali Metals (

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

) :X₂O + H₂O → 2XOH (X means group 1) Alkaline Earth Metals (

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification * Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962 * Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in ...

) :XO + H₂O → X(OH)₂ (X means group 2) Examples include: *

Sodium oxide Sodium oxide is a chemical compound with the formula Na2 O. It is used in ceramics and glasses. It is a white solid but the compound is rarely encountered. Instead "sodium oxide" is used to describe components of various materials such as glass ...

, which reacts with water to produce sodium hydroxide *

Magnesium oxide Magnesium oxide ( Mg O), or magnesia, is a white hygroscopic solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase and is a source of magnesium (see also oxide). It has an empirical formula of MgO and consists of a lattice of Mg2+ ions and O2− ions ...

, which reacts with

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 ...

to form

magnesium chloride Magnesium chloride is the family of inorganic compounds with the formula , where x can range from 0 to 12. These salts are colorless or white solids that are highly soluble in water. These compounds and their solutions, both of which occur in natu ...

Copper(II) oxide Copper(II) oxide or cupric oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula CuO. A black solid, it is one of the two stable oxides of copper, the other being Cu2O or copper(I) oxide (cuprous oxide). As a mineral, it is known as tenorite. It is ...

, which reacts with

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 ...

to form

copper nitrate Copper(II) nitrate describes any member of the family of inorganic compounds with the formula Cu( NO3)2(H2O)x. The hydrates are blue solids. Anhydrous copper nitrate forms blue-green crystals and sublimes in a vacuum at 150-200 °C. Common hy ...

Formation

Examples of Oxides (Group 1 elements react with oxygen): * Lithium reacts with oxygen to give oxide. Li₂O 4 Li(s) + O₂(g) → 2 Li₂O(s) * Sodium reacts with oxygen to give

peroxide In chemistry, peroxides are a group of compounds with the structure , where R = any element. The group in a peroxide is called the peroxide group or peroxo group. The nomenclature is somewhat variable. The most common peroxide is hydrogen ...

. Na₂O₂ 2 Na(s) + O₂(g) → Na₂O₂(s) * Potassium reacts with oxygen to form

superoxide In chemistry, a superoxide is a compound that contains the superoxide ion, which has the chemical formula . The systematic name of the anion is dioxide(1−). The reactive oxygen ion superoxide is particularly important as the product of t ...

. KO₂ K(s) + O₂(g) → KO₂(s)

Examples

*All oxides in Group 1 & 2 elements are basic (except BeO), they react with

to form a base: **

Lithium oxide Lithium oxide ( O) or lithia is an inorganic chemical compound. It is a white solid. Although not specifically important, many materials are assessed on the basis of their Li2O content. For example, the Li2O content of the principal lithium miner ...

reacts with water to produce

Lithium hydroxide Lithium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula LiOH. It can exist as anhydrous or hydrated, and both forms are white hygroscopic solids. They are soluble in water and slightly soluble in ethanol. Both are available commercially. While ...

: Li₂O(s) + H₂O(l) → 2 Li⁺(aq) + 2 OH⁻(aq) **

reacts with water to produce Sodium hydroxide: Na₂O(s) + H₂O(l) → 2 NaOH(aq) **

Potassium oxide Potassium oxide ( K O) is an ionic compound of potassium and oxygen. It is a base. This pale yellow solid is the simplest oxide of potassium. It is a highly reactive compound that is rarely encountered. Some industrial materials, such as fertili ...

reacts with water to produce

Potassium hydroxide Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula K OH, and is commonly called caustic potash. Along with sodium hydroxide (NaOH), KOH is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which exp ...

: K₂O(s) + H₂O(l) → 2 KOH(aq) **

Rubidium oxide Rubidium oxide is the chemical compound with the formula . Rubidium oxide is highly reactive towards water, and therefore it would not be expected to occur naturally. The rubidium content in minerals is often calculated and quoted in terms of . I ...

reacts with water to produce

Rubidium hydroxide Rubidium hydroxide is the inorganic compound with the formula RbOH. It consists of rubidium cations and an equal number of hydroxide anions. It is a colorless solid that is commercially available as aqueous solutions from a few suppliers. Like ot ...

: Rb₂O(s) + H₂O(l) → 2 RbOH(aq) ** Cesium oxide reacts with water to produce Cesium hydroxide: Cs₂O(s) + H₂O(l) → 2 CsOH(aq) **

reacts with water to produce

Magnesium hydroxide Magnesium hydroxide is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula Mg(OH)2. It occurs in nature as the mineral brucite. It is a white solid with low solubility in water (). Magnesium hydroxide is a common component of antacids, such as milk ...

: MgO(s) + H₂O(l) → Mg(OH)₂(aq) **

Calcium oxide Calcium oxide (CaO), commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline, crystalline solid at room temperature. The broadly used term "''lime''" connotes calcium-containing inorganic ...

reacts with water to produce Calcium hydroxide: CaO(s) + H₂O(l) → Ca(OH)₂(aq) ** Strontium oxide reacts with water to produce Strontium hydroxide: SrO(s) + H₂O(l) → Sr(OH)₂(aq) **

Barium oxide Barium oxide, also known as baria, is a white hygroscopic non-flammable compound with the formula BaO. It has a cubic structure and is used in cathode ray tubes, crown glass, and catalysts. It is harmful to human skin and if swallowed in larg ...

reacts with water to produce

Barium hydroxide Barium hydroxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula Ba(OH)2. The monohydrate (''x'' = 1), known as baryta or baryta-water, is one of the principal compounds of barium. This white granular monohydrate is the usual commercial form. ...

: BaO(aq) + H₂O(l) → Ba(OH)₂(aq) ** Radium oxide reacts with water to produce Radium hydroxide: RaO(aq) + H₂O(l) → Ra(OH)₂(aq) *Some oxide in Group 13 element is basic, it reacts with

to form a base: **

Thallium(I) oxide Thallium(I) oxide is the inorganic compound of thallium and oxygen with the formula Tl2O in which thallium is in its +1 oxidation state. It is black and produces a basic yellow solution of thallium(I) hydroxide (TlOH) when dissolved in water. ...

reacts with water to produce

Thallium(I) hydroxide Thallium(I) hydroxide, also called thallous hydroxide, TlOH, is a hydroxide of thallium, with thallium in oxidation state +1. Synthesis Thallium(I) hydroxide is obtained from the decomposition of thallium(I) ethoxide in water. :C2H5OTl + H2O � ...

: Tl₂O(s) + H₂O(l) → 2 TlOH(aq) *Some oxide in Group 15 element is basic, it reacts with

to form a base: **

Bismuth(III) Oxide Bismuth(III) oxide is perhaps the most industrially important compound of bismuth. It is also a common starting point for bismuth chemistry. It is found naturally as the mineral bismite (monoclinic) and sphaerobismoite (tetragonal, much more rare) ...

reacts with water to produce Bismuth(III) hydroxide: Bi₂O₃(s) + 3H₂O(l) → 2 Bi(OH)₃(aq) * In neutralization reactions, basic oxides reacts with an acid to form

and

: **

reacts with

hydrogen chloride The compound hydrogen chloride has the chemical formula and as such is a hydrogen halide. At room temperature, it is a colourless gas, which forms white fumes of hydrochloric acid upon contact with atmospheric water vapor. Hydrogen chloride ga ...

(acid) to produce

Magnesium chloride Magnesium chloride is the family of inorganic compounds with the formula , where x can range from 0 to 12. These salts are colorless or white solids that are highly soluble in water. These compounds and their solutions, both of which occur in natu ...

(salt) and water: MgO + 2 HCl → MgCl₂ + H₂O **

reacts with

(acid) to produce Sodium chloride (salt) and water: Na₂O + 2HCl → 2NaCl + H₂O ** Sodium hydroxide reacts with

(acid) to produce Sodium chloride (salt) and water: NaOH + HCl → NaCl + H₂O Magnesium_oxide.jpg, Magnesium oxide Calcium oxide powder.JPG, Calcium oxide SodiumHydroxide.jpg, Sodium hydroxide

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basic Oxide Oxides

Etymology

Formation

Examples

See also

References