Names | |
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IUPAC name Ammonium chloride | |
Other names
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Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) | |
ChEBI | |
ChemSpider | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.031.976 |
EC Number |
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KEGG | |
PubChem CID | |
RTECS number |
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UNII | |
UN number | 3077 |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
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Properties | |
ClH4N | |
Molar mass | 53.49 g·mol−1 |
Appearance | White or colorless crystalline solid, hygroscopic |
Odor | Odorless |
Density | 1.519 g/cm3 [1] |
Melting point | 338 °C (640 °F) |
Decomposes at 337.6 °C at 1 atm [2] ΔdecompH | |
244 g/L (−15 °C) 294 g/L (0 °C) 383.0 g/L (25 °C) 454.4 g/L (40 °C) 740.8 g/L (100 °C) [4] | |
Solubility product (Ksp) | 30.9 (395 g/L) [5] |
Solubility | Soluble in liquid ammonia, hydrazine, Slightly soluble in acetone Insoluble in diethyl ether, ethyl acetate [2] |
Solubility in methanol | 32 g/kg (17 °C) 33.5 g/kg (19 °C) 35.4 g/kg (25 °C) [2] |
Solubility in ethanol | 6 g/L (19 °C) [6] |
Solubility in glycerol | 97 g/kg [2] |
Solubility in sulfur dioxide | 0.09 g/kg (0 °C) 0.031 g/kg (25 °C) [2] |
Solubility in acetic acid | 0.67 g/kg (16.6 °C) [2] |
Vapor pressure | 133.3 Pa (160.4 °C) [7] 6.5 kPa (250 °C) 33.5 kPa (300 °C) [6] |
Acidity (pKa) | 9.24 |
-36.7·10−6 cm3/mol [8] | |
Refractive index (nD) | 1.642 (20 °C) [2] |
Structure | |
CsCl, cP2 [9] | |
Pm3m, No. 221 | |
a = 0.3876 nm | |
Formula units (Z) | 1 |
Thermochemistry | |
Heat capacity (C) | 84.1 J/mol·K [6] |
Std molar entropy (S⦵298) | 94.56 J/mol·K [6] |
Std enthalpy of formation (ΔfH⦵298) | −314.43 kJ/mol [6] |
Gibbs free energy (ΔfG⦵) | −202.97 kJ/mol [6] |
Pharmacology | |
B05XA04 ( WHO ) G04BA01 ( WHO ) | |
Hazards | |
GHS labelling: | |
[7] | |
Warning | |
H302, H319 [7] | |
P305+P351+P338 [7] | |
NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |
Flash point | Non-flammable |
Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC): | |
LD50 (median dose) | 1650 mg/kg (rats, oral) |
NIOSH (US health exposure limits): | |
PEL (Permissible) | none [10] |
REL (Recommended) | TWA 10 mg/m3 ST 20 mg/m3 (as fume) [10] |
IDLH (Immediate danger) | N.D. [10] |
Safety data sheet (SDS) | ICSC 1051 |
Related compounds | |
Other anions | Ammonium fluoride Ammonium bromide Ammonium iodide |
Other cations | Sodium chloride Potassium chloride Hydroxylammonium chloride |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). |
Ammonium chloride is an inorganic chemical compound with the chemical formula N H 4 Cl , also written as [NH4]Cl. It is an ammonium salt of hydrogen chloride. It consists of ammonium cations [NH4]+ and chloride anions Cl−. It is a white crystalline salt that is highly soluble in water. Solutions of ammonium chloride are mildly acidic. In its naturally occurring mineralogic form, it is known as salammoniac. The mineral is commonly formed on burning coal dumps from condensation of coal-derived gases. It is also found around some types of volcanic vents. It is mainly used as fertilizer and a flavouring agent in some types of liquorice. It is a product of the reaction of hydrochloric acid and ammonia.
It is a product of the Solvay process used to produce sodium carbonate: [3]
Not only is that method the principal one for the manufacture of ammonium chloride, but also it is used to minimize ammonia release in some industrial operations.
Ammonium chloride is prepared commercially by combining ammonia (NH3) with either hydrogen chloride (gas) or hydrochloric acid (water solution): [3]
Ammonium chloride occurs naturally in volcanic regions, forming on volcanic rocks near fume-releasing vents (fumaroles). The crystals deposit directly from the gaseous state and tend to be short-lived, as they dissolve easily in water. [11]
Ammonium chloride appears to sublime upon heating but actually reversibly decomposes into ammonia and hydrogen chloride gas: [3]
Ammonium chloride reacts with a strong base, like sodium hydroxide, to release ammonia gas:
Similarly, ammonium chloride also reacts with alkali-metal carbonates at elevated temperatures, giving ammonia and alkali-metal chloride:
A solution of 5% by mass of ammonium chloride in water has a pH in the range 4.6 to 6.0. [12]
Some reactions of ammonium chloride with other chemicals are endothermic, such as its reaction with barium hydroxide and its dissolving in water.
The dominant application of ammonium chloride is as a nitrogen source in fertilizers (corresponding to 90% of the world production of ammonium chloride) such as chloroammonium phosphate. The main crops fertilized this way are rice and wheat in Asia. [13]
Ammonium chloride was used in pyrotechnics in the 18th century but was superseded by safer and less hygroscopic chemicals. Its purpose was to provide a chlorine donor to enhance the green and blue colours from copper ions in the flame.
It had a secondary use to provide white smoke, but its ready double decomposition reaction with potassium chlorate producing the highly unstable ammonium chlorate made its use very dangerous. [14] [15] [16]
Ammonium chloride is used as a flux in preparing metals to be tin coated, galvanized or soldered. It works as a flux by cleaning the surface of workpieces by reacting with the metal oxides at the surface to form a volatile metal chloride. For that purpose, it is sold in blocks at hardware stores for use in cleaning the tip of a soldering iron, and it can also be included in solder as flux.
Ammonium chloride is used as an expectorant in cough medicine. Its expectorant action is caused by irritative action on the bronchial mucosa, which causes the production of excess respiratory tract fluid, which presumably is easier to cough up. Ammonium salts are an irritant to the gastric mucosa and may induce nausea and vomiting.
Ammonium chloride is used as a systemic acidifying agent in treatment of severe metabolic alkalosis, in oral acid loading test to diagnose distal renal tubular acidosis, to maintain the urine at an acid pH in the treatment of some urinary-tract disorders.[ citation needed ]
Ammonium chloride, under the name sal ammoniac or salmiak is used as food additive under the E number E510, working as a yeast nutrient in breadmaking and as an acidifier. [17] It is a feed supplement for cattle and an ingredient in nutritive media for yeasts and many microorganisms.
Ammonium chloride is used to spice up dark sweets called salty liquorice (popular in the Nordic countries, Benelux and northern Germany), [18] in baking to give cookies a very crisp texture, and in the liquor Salmiakki Koskenkorva for flavouring. In Turkey, Iran, Tajikistan, India, Pakistan and Arab countries it is called "noshader" and is used to improve the crispness of snacks such as samosas and jalebi .
Ammonium chloride has been used historically to produce low temperatures in cooling baths. [19]
Ammonium chloride solutions with ammonia are used as buffer solutions including ACK (Ammonium-Chloride-Potassium) lysis buffer. [20]
In paleontology, ammonium chloride vapor is deposited on fossils, where the substance forms a brilliant white, easily removed and fairly harmless and inert layer of tiny crystals that covers up any coloration the fossil may have, and if lighted at an angle highly enhances contrast in photographic documentation of three-dimensional specimens. [21] The same technique is applied in archaeology to eliminate reflection on glass and similar specimens for photography. [22]
In organic synthesis saturated NH4Cl solution is typically used to quench reaction mixtures. [23]
It has a lambda transition at 242.8 K and zero pressure. [24]
Giant squid and some other large squid species maintain neutral buoyancy in seawater through an ammonium chloride solution which is found throughout their bodies and is less dense than seawater. [25] This differs from the method of flotation used by most fish, which involves a gas-filled swim bladder.
Around the turn of the 20th century, ammonium chloride was used in aqueous solution as the electrolyte in Leclanché cells that found a commercial use as the "local battery" in subscribers' telephone installations. Those cells later evolved into zinc–carbon batteries still using ammonium chloride as electrolyte.
A penetrating and intense reddish brown color is stained into concrete surfaces with a mixture of 1 part Ammonium chloride, 2 parts Ferric chloride and 5 parts water. [26] Pre-treatment with acid is unnecessary.
Ammonium chloride is used in a ~5% aqueous solution to work on oil wells with clay swelling problems. Other uses include in hair shampoo, in the glue that bonds plywood, and in cleaning products. In hair shampoo, it is used as a thickening agent in ammonium-based surfactant systems such as ammonium lauryl sulfate. Ammonium chloride is used in the textile and leather industry, in dyeing, tanning, textile printing and cotton clustering. In woodworking, a solution of ammonium chloride and water, when applied to unfinished wood, will burn when subjected to a heat gun resulting in a branding iron mark without use of a branding iron. The solution can be painted onto the wood or applied with a common rubber stamp. [27]
Ammonium chloride can also be used in the process of making albumen silver prints.
The earliest mention of ammonium chloride was in 554 in China. [28] At that time, ammonium chloride came from two sources: (1) the vents of underground coal fires in Central Asia, specifically, in the Tian Shan mountains (which extend from Xinjiang province of northwestern China through Kyrgyzstan) as well as in the Alay (or Alai) mountains of southwestern Kyrgyzstan, and (2) the fumaroles of the volcano Mount Taftan in southeastern Iran. [29] [30] [31] (Indeed, the word for ammonium chloride in several Asian languages derives from the Iranian phrase anosh adur (immortal fire), a reference to the underground fires. [32] ) Ammonium chloride was then transported along the Silk Road eastwards to China and westwards to the Muslim lands and Europe.
Around 800 A.D. the Arabs of Egypt discovered ammonium chloride in the soot that resulted from burning camel dung, and this source became an alternative to those in Central Asia. [33] [34]
Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3. A stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous waste, and it contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to fertilisers. Around 70% of ammonia produced industrially is used to make fertilisers in various forms and composition, such as urea and diammonium phosphate. Ammonia in pure form is also applied directly into the soil.
Urea, also called carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula CO(NH2)2. This amide has two amino groups joined by a carbonyl functional group. It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid.
Sodium carbonate is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2CO3 and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield alkaline solutions in water. Historically, it was extracted from the ashes of plants grown in sodium-rich soils, and because the ashes of these sodium-rich plants were noticeably different from ashes of wood, sodium carbonate became known as "soda ash". It is produced in large quantities from sodium chloride and limestone by the Solvay process, as well as by carbonating sodium hydroxide which is made using the Chlor-alkali process.
The compound hydrogen chloride has the chemical formula HCl and as such is a hydrogen halide. At room temperature, it is a colorless gas, which forms white fumes of hydrochloric acid upon contact with atmospheric water vapor. Hydrogen chloride gas and hydrochloric acid are important in technology and industry. Hydrochloric acid, the aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride, is also commonly given the formula HCl.
Salammoniac, also sal ammoniac or salmiac, is a rare naturally occurring mineral composed of ammonium chloride, NH4Cl. It forms colorless, white, or yellow-brown crystals in the isometric-hexoctahedral class. It has very poor cleavage and is brittle to conchoidal fracture. It is quite soft, with a Mohs hardness of 1.5 to 2, and it has a low specific gravity of 1.5. It is water-soluble. Salammoniac is also the archaic name for the chemical compound ammonium chloride.
Ammonium bicarbonate is an inorganic compound with formula (NH4)HCO3. The compound has many names, reflecting its long history. Chemically speaking, it is the bicarbonate salt of the ammonium ion. It is a colourless solid that degrades readily to carbon dioxide, water and ammonia.
The Solvay process or ammonia–soda process is the major industrial process for the production of sodium carbonate (soda ash, Na2CO3). The ammonia–soda process was developed into its modern form by the Belgian chemist Ernest Solvay during the 1860s. The ingredients for this are readily available and inexpensive: salt brine (from inland sources or from the sea) and limestone (from quarries). The worldwide production of soda ash in 2005 was estimated at 42 million tonnes, which is more than six kilograms (13 lb) per year for each person on Earth. Solvay-based chemical plants now produce roughly three-quarters of this supply, with the remaining being mined from natural deposits. This method superseded the Leblanc process.
Ammonium carbonate is a salt with the chemical formula (NH4)2CO3. Since it readily degrades to gaseous ammonia and carbon dioxide upon heating, it is used as a leavening agent and also as smelling salt. It is also known as baker's ammonia and is a predecessor to the more modern leavening agents baking soda and baking powder. It is a component of what was formerly known as sal volatile and salt of hartshorn, and produces a pungent smell when baked. It comes in the form of a white powder or block, with a molar mass of 96.09 g/mol and a density of 1.50 g/cm3. It is a strong electrolyte.
Samarium(III) chloride, also known as samarium trichloride, is an inorganic compound of samarium and chloride. It is a pale yellow salt that rapidly absorbs water to form a hexahydrate, SmCl3.6H2O. The compound has few practical applications but is used in laboratories for research on new compounds of samarium.
Salty liquorice, salmiak liquorice or salmiac liquorice, is a variety of liquorice flavoured with salmiak salt, and is a common confection found in the Nordic countries, Benelux, and northern Germany. Salmiak salt gives salty liquorice an astringent, salty taste, akin to that of tannins—a characteristic of red wines, which adds bitterness and astringency to the flavour. Consuming salmiak liquorice can stimulate either a savoury or non-savoury palate and response. Anise oil can also be an additional main ingredient in salty liquorice. Extra-salty liquorice is additionally coated with salmiak salt or salmiak powder, or sometimes table salt.
Ammonium bromide, NH4Br, is the ammonium salt of hydrobromic acid. The chemical crystallizes in colorless prisms, possessing a saline taste; it sublimes on heating and is easily soluble in water. On exposure to air it gradually assumes a yellow color because of the oxidation of traces of bromide (Br−) to bromine (Br2).
Terbium(III,IV) oxide, occasionally called tetraterbium heptaoxide, has the formula Tb4O7, though some texts refer to it as TbO1.75. There is some debate as to whether it is a discrete compound, or simply one phase in an interstitial oxide system. Tb4O7 is one of the main commercial terbium compounds, and the only such product containing at least some Tb(IV) (terbium in the +4 oxidation state), along with the more stable Tb(III). It is produced by heating the metal oxalate, and it is used in the preparation of other terbium compounds. Terbium forms three other major oxides: Tb2O3, TbO2, and Tb6O11.
Copper(II) hydroxide is the hydroxide of copper with the chemical formula of Cu(OH)2. It is a pale greenish blue or bluish green solid. Some forms of copper(II) hydroxide are sold as "stabilized" copper(II) hydroxide, although they likely consist of a mixture of copper(II) carbonate and hydroxide. Cupric hydroxide is a strong base, although its low solubility in water makes this hard to observe directly.
The Wöhler synthesis is the conversion of ammonium cyanate into urea. This chemical reaction was described in 1828 by Friedrich Wöhler. It is often cited as the starting point of modern organic chemistry. Although the Wöhler reaction concerns the conversion of ammonium cyanate, this salt appears only as an (unstable) intermediate. Wöhler demonstrated the reaction in his original publication with different sets of reactants: a combination of cyanic acid and ammonia, a combination of silver cyanate and ammonium chloride, a combination of lead cyanate and ammonia and finally from a combination of mercury cyanate and cyanatic ammonia.
Lanthanum chloride is the inorganic compound with the formula LaCl3. It is a common salt of lanthanum which is mainly used in research. It is a white solid that is highly soluble in water and alcohols.
The Leclanché cell is a battery invented and patented by the French scientist Georges Leclanché in 1866. The battery contained a conducting solution (electrolyte) of ammonium chloride, a cathode of carbon, a depolarizer of manganese dioxide (oxidizer), and an anode of zinc (reductant). The chemistry of this cell was later successfully adapted to manufacture a dry cell.
Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid or spirits of salt, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl). It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid. It is a component of the gastric acid in the digestive systems of most animal species, including humans. Hydrochloric acid is an important laboratory reagent and industrial chemical.
Ammonium cyanide is an unstable inorganic compound with the formula NH4CN.
Bararite is a natural form of ammonium fluorosilicate (also known as hexafluorosilicate or fluosilicate). It has chemical formula (NH4)2SiF6 and trigonal crystal structure. This mineral was once classified as part of cryptohalite. Bararite is named after the place where it was first described, Barari, India. It is found at the fumaroles of volcanoes (Vesuvius, Italy), over burning coal seams (Barari, India), and in burning piles of anthracite (Pennsylvania, U.S.). It is a sublimation product that forms with cryptohalite, sal ammoniac, and native sulfur.
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