Caesium perchlorate or cesium perchlorate (CsClO₄), is a perchlorate of

caesium Caesium (IUPAC spelling; also spelled cesium in American English) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cs and atomic number 55. It is a soft, silvery-golden alkali metal with a melting point of , which makes it one of only f ...

. It forms white crystals, which are sparingly soluble in cold water and

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

. It dissolves more easily in hot water. CsClO₄ is the second least soluble of the alkali metal perchlorates (after Fr, followed by Rb, K, Li, and Na), a property which may be used for separatory purposes and even for gravimetric analysis. This low solubility played an important role in the characterization of

francium Francium is a chemical element; it has symbol Fr and atomic number 87. It is extremely radioactive; its most stable isotope, francium-223 (originally called '' actinium K'' after the natural decay chain in which it appears), has a half-l ...

as an alkali metal, as francium perchlorate coprecipitates with caesium perchlorate.

When heated, CsClO₄ decomposes to

caesium chloride Caesium chloride or cesium chloride is the inorganic compound with the formula Caesium, CsChloride, Cl. This colorless salt is an important source of caesium ions in a variety of niche applications. Its crystal structure forms a major structural ...

above 250 °C. Like all perchlorates, it is a strong oxidant and may react violently with reducing agents and organic materials, especially at elevated temperatures.

References

External links

Sigma-Aldrich MSDS
Caesium compounds Perchlorates {{Perchlorates