Chemical Properties of Cobalt II Carbonate
- Cobalt III Carbonate (Co2(CO3)3) is formed when cobalt II carbonate is oxidized by air on weak oxidizing agents.
- Cobalt (II) carbonate and hydrochloric acid react in an aqueous solution to form Cobalt chloride.
CoCO3 + 2HCl(aq) → CoCl2(aq) + CO2 + H2O
- Cobalt chloride hexahydrate can be prepared from the reaction of cobalt II carbonate and hydrochloric acid in an aqueous solution.
CoCO3 + 2HCl + 5H2O → [Co(H2O)6]Cl2 + CO2
- When cobalt (II) carbonate and acetylacetone (C5H8O2) react in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, tris(acetylacetonate)cobalt(III) [Co(C5H7O2)3] is produced.
2CoCO3 + H2O2 + 15C5H8O2 → 2 Co(C5H7O2)3 + 2CO2 + 4H2O
- When cobalt (II) carbonate is heated, it emits carbon dioxide and produces cobalt (IV) oxide, which converts reversibly to cobalt oxide (CoO) at high temperatures.
6CoCO3 + O2 → 2 Co3O4 + 6CO2
Cobalt II Carbonate Formula
Cobalt (II) carbonate is an inorganic compound that is also known as cobaltous carbonate. It is a reddish paramagnetic solid whose chemical or molecular formula is CoCO3. Its molecular weight is 118.941 g/mol and it has a density of 4.13 g/cm3. It is an intermediate in obtaining cobalt from their ores by hydrometallurgical purification. Spherocobaltite or sphaerocobaltite is a cobalt carbonate mineral that exists in a rose-red colour in its rare pure form, while its impure specimens exist in shades of pink to pale brown. Cobalt (II) carbonate hexahydrate on heating becomes anhydrous by 140 °C while the anhydrous cobalt (II) carbonate decomposes at 427 °C before melting into cobalt (II) oxide. It is soluble in acids and liquid ammonia, almost insoluble in alcohol, methyl acetate, water, and decomposes in hot water, and is insoluble in ethanol. It is used in the preparation of cobalt compounds, ceramics, pigments, fertilizers, and catalysts.