Cerium(IV) sulfate, also called ceric sulfate, is an
inorganic compound
In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemist ...
. It exists as the
anhydrous
A substance is anhydrous if it contains no water. Many processes in chemistry can be impeded by the presence of water; therefore, it is important that water-free reagents and techniques are used. In practice, however, it is very difficult to achie ...
salt Ce(
SO4)
2 as well as a few
hydrate
In chemistry, a hydrate is a substance that contains water or its constituent elements. The chemical state of the water varies widely between different classes of hydrates, some of which were so labeled before their chemical structure was understo ...
d forms: Ce(SO
4)
2(H
2O)
x, with x equal to 4, 8, or 12. These salts are yellow to yellow/orange solids that are moderately
soluble in
water and dilute
acid
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
s. Its
neutral solutions slowly
decompose, depositing the light yellow oxide
CeO2. Solutions of ceric sulfate have a strong yellow color. The tetrahydrate loses water when heated to 180-200 °C.
It is insoluble in glacial acetic acid and pure (96%) ethanol.
It was historically produced by direct reaction of fine, calcined cerium (IV) oxide and concentrated sulfuric acid, yielding the tetrahydrate.
Uses
The ceric ion is a strong
oxidizer, especially under acidic conditions. If ceric sulfate is added to dilute
hydrochloric acid, then elemental
chlorine is formed, albeit slowly. With stronger
reducing agents it
reacts
''React'' (from Spanish: ''Reacciona'') is a book by Rosa María Artal published in Spain in 2011 by Aguilar, which compiles articles by José Luis Sampedro, Baltasar Garzón, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Javier Pérez de Albéniz, Javier López Facal ...
much faster. For example, with
sulfite
Sulfites or sulphites are compounds that contain the sulfite ion (or the sulfate(IV) ion, from its correct systematic name), . The sulfite ion is the conjugate base of bisulfite. Although its acid ( sulfurous acid) is elusive, its salts are wide ...
in acidic environments it reacts quickly and completely.
When ceric compounds are reduced, so-called ''cerous'' compounds are formed. The reaction taking place is:
:Ce
4+ + e
− → Ce
3+
The cerous ion is colorless.
Ceric sulfate is used in
analytical chemistry for
redox titration, often together with a
redox indicator.
A related compound is
ceric ammonium sulfate
Ammonium cerium(IV) sulfate is an inorganic compound with the formula (NH4)4Ce(SO4)4·2H2O. It is an orange-colored solid. It is a strong oxidant, the potential for reduction is about +1.44V. Cerium(IV) sulfate
Cerium(IV) sulfate, also called ...
.
[Mariappan Periasamy, Ukkiramapandian Radhakrishnan "Cerium(IV) Ammonium Sulfate" Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis, 2001, John Wiley & Sons. ]
The solubility of Ce(IV) in
methanesulfonic acid
Methanesulfonic acid (MsOH) or methanesulphonic acid (in British English) is an organosulfuric, colorless liquid with the chemical formula and structure . It is the simplest of the alkylsulfonic acids (). Salts and esters of methanesulfonic aci ...
is approximately 10 times the value obtainable in acidic sulfate solutions.
References
{{Sulfates
Cerium(IV) compounds
Sulfates
Oxidizing agents