Cobalt(III) oxide is the

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 formula of Co₂O₃. Although only two oxides of cobalt are well characterized,

CoO COO or coo may refer to: Business * Certificate of origin, used in international trade * Chief operating officer or chief operations officer, high-ranking corporate official * Concept of operations, used in Systems Engineering Management Process ...

and Co₃O₄, procedures claiming to give Co₂O₃ have been described. Thus treatment of Co(II) salts such as

cobalt(II) sulfate Cobalt(II) sulfate is any of the inorganic compounds with the formula CoSO4(H2O)x. Usually cobalt sulfate refers to the hexa- or heptahydrates CoSO4.6H2O or CoSO4.7H2O, respectively. The heptahydrate is a red solid that is soluble in water and ...

with an aqueous solution of

sodium hypochlorite Sodium hypochlorite (commonly known in a dilute solution as bleach) is an Inorganic chemistry, inorganic chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula NaOCl (or NaClO), comprising a sodium cation () and a hypochlorite anion (or ). It may ...

(also known as bleach) gives a black solid: :2CoSO₄ + 4NaOH + NaOCl → Co₂O₃ + 2Na₂SO₄ + NaCl Some formulations of the catalyst

hopcalite Hopcalite is the trade name for a number of mixtures that mainly consist of oxides of copper and manganese, which are used as catalysts for the conversion of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide when exposed to the oxygen in the air at room temperatu ...

contain "Co₂O₃". Some studies have been unable to synthesize the compound, and report that it is theoretically unstable. It is soluble in cold diluted

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 ...

and produces Co₂ O₄sub>3, which is blue in aqueous solution. : Co₂O₃ + 3H₂SO₄ → Co₂ O₄sub>3 + 3H₂O Colbalt(III) ion is a strong

oxidizer An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or " accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ). In other words, an oxid ...

in acidic solution, its

standard electrode potential In electrochemistry, standard electrode potential E^\ominus, or E^\ominus_, is a measure of the reducing power of any element or compound. The IUPAC "Gold Book" defines it as: ''"the value of the standard emf (electromotive force) of a cell in wh ...

is +1.84V in this situation.

References

{{oxygen compounds Cobalt(III) compounds Sesquioxides Transition metal oxides

See also

References