Copper(I) sulfate, also known as cuprous 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 ...

with the

chemical formula In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, ...

Cu₂ SO₄. It is a white solid that has attracted little attention, in contrast to

copper(II) sulfate Copper(II) sulfate, also known as copper sulphate, is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It forms hydrates , where ''n'' can range from 1 to 7. The pentahydrate (''n'' = 5), a bright blue crystal, is the most commonly encountered hy ...

. It is an unusual example of a copper(I) compound derived from an oxyanion, illustrated also by the non- or fleeting existence of cuprous nitrate and cuprous perchlorate.

Structure

Cu₂SO₄ crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Fddd. Each oxygen in a sulfate anion is bridged to another sulfate by a copper atom, and the Cu-O distances are 196 pm.

Synthesis

Cuprous sulfate is produced by the reaction of copper metal with

sulfuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...

at 200 °C: 2Cu + 2 H2SO4 -> Cu2SO4 + SO2 + 2 H2O Cu₂SO₄ can also be synthesized by the action of

dimethyl sulfate Dimethyl sulfate (DMS) is a chemical compound with formula (CH3O)2SO2. As the diester of methanol and sulfuric acid, its formula is often written as ( CH3)2 SO4 or Me2SO4, where CH3 or Me is methyl. Me2SO4 is mainly used as a methylating agent ...

cuprous oxide Copper(I) oxide or cuprous oxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Cu2O. It is one of the principal oxides of copper, the other being or copper(II) oxide or cupric oxide (CuO). This red-coloured solid is a component of some antifouling p ...

: Cu2O + (CH3O)2SO2 -> Cu2SO4 + (CH3)2O The material is stable in dry air at room temperature but decomposes rapidly in presence of moisture or upon heating. It decomposes into copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate upon contact with water. Cu2SO4 + 5 H2O -> Cu + CuSO4*5(H2O) It can also be produced by the reaction of copper(II) sulfate and a

reducing agent In chemistry, a reducing agent (also known as a reductant, reducer, or electron donor) is a chemical species that "donates" an electron to an (called the , , , or ). Examples of substances that are commonly reducing agents include the Earth meta ...

such as

sodium thiosulfate Sodium thiosulfate (sodium thiosulphate) is an inorganic compound with the formula . Typically it is available as the white or colorless pentahydrate, . The solid is an efflorescent (loses water readily) crystalline substance that dissolves well i ...

References

{{Sulfates Copper(I) compounds Sulfates