Names | |
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IUPAC name Iron(II) hydroxide | |
Other names Ferrous hydroxide, green rust | |
Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) | |
ChemSpider | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.038.581 |
PubChem CID | |
UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
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Properties | |
Fe(OH)2 | |
Molar mass | 89.86 g/mol |
Appearance | green solid |
Density | 3.4 g/cm3 [1] |
0.000052 g/100 g water (20 °C, pH 7) [2] | |
Solubility product (Ksp) | 8.0 x 10−16 [3] |
Hazards | |
Flash point | Non-flammable |
Related compounds | |
Related compounds | Iron(II) oxide Iron(III) hydroxide |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). |
Iron(II) hydroxide or ferrous hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula Fe(OH)2. It is produced when iron(II) salts, from a compound such as iron(II) sulfate, are treated with hydroxide ions. Iron(II) hydroxide is a white solid, but even traces of oxygen impart a greenish tinge. The air-oxidised solid is sometimes known as "green rust".
Iron(II) hydroxide is poorly soluble in water (1.43 × 10−3 g/L), or 1.59 × 10−5 mol/L. It precipitates from the reaction of iron(II) and hydroxide salts: [4]
If the solution is not deoxygenated and iron not totally reduced in Fe(II), the precipitate can vary in colour starting from green to reddish brown depending on the iron(III) content. Iron(II) ions are easily substituted by iron(III) ions produced by its progressive oxidation.
It is also easily formed as a by-product of other reactions, a.o., in the synthesis of siderite, an iron carbonate (FeCO3), if the crystal growth conditions are imperfectly controlled.
Fe(OH)2 is a layer double hydroxide (LDH) easily accommodating in its crystal lattice ferric ions (Fe3+
) produced by oxidation of ferrous ions (Fe2+
) by the atmospheric oxygen (O2).
Green rust is a recently discovered mineralogical form. All forms of green rust (including fougerite) are more complex and variable than the ideal iron(II) hydroxide compound.
Under anaerobic conditions, the iron(II) hydroxide can be oxidised by the protons of water to form magnetite (iron(II,III) oxide) and molecular hydrogen. This process is described by the Schikorr reaction:
Anions such as selenite and selenate can be easily adsorbed on the positively charged surface of iron(II) hydroxide, where they are subsequently reduced by Fe2+. The resulting products are poorly soluble (Se0, FeSe, or FeSe2).
Iron dissolved in groundwater is in the reduced iron II form. If this groundwater comes in contact with oxygen at the surface, e.g. in natural springs, iron II is oxidised to iron III and forms insoluble hydroxides in water. [5] The natural analogue of iron(II) hydroxide compound is the very rare mineral amakinite, (Fe,Mg)(OH)2. [6] [7]
Iron(II) hydroxide has also been investigated as an agent for the removal of toxic selenate and selenite ions from water systems such as wetlands. The iron(II) hydroxide reduces these ions to elemental selenium, which is insoluble in water and precipitates out. [8]
In a basic solution iron(II) hydroxide is the electrochemically active material of the negative electrode of the nickel-iron battery.
Hydroxide is a diatomic anion with chemical formula OH−. It consists of an oxygen and hydrogen atom held together by a single covalent bond, and carries a negative electric charge. It is an important but usually minor constituent of water. It functions as a base, a ligand, a nucleophile, and a catalyst. The hydroxide ion forms salts, some of which dissociate in aqueous solution, liberating solvated hydroxide ions. Sodium hydroxide is a multi-million-ton per annum commodity chemical. The corresponding electrically neutral compound HO• is the hydroxyl radical. The corresponding covalently bound group –OH of atoms is the hydroxy group. Both the hydroxide ion and hydroxy group are nucleophiles and can act as catalysts in organic chemistry.
Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH), Fe(OH)3), and is typically associated with the corrosion of refined iron.
In chemistry, iron(III) refers to the element iron in its +3 oxidation state. In ionic compounds (salts), such an atom may occur as a separate cation (positive ion) denoted by Fe3+.
In chemistry, a reducing agent is a chemical species that "donates" an electron to an electron recipient. Examples of substances that are common reducing agents include the alkali metals, formic acid, oxalic acid, and sulfite compounds.
Classical qualitative inorganic analysis is a method of analytical chemistry which seeks to find the elemental composition of inorganic compounds. It is mainly focused on detecting ions in an aqueous solution, therefore materials in other forms may need to be brought to this state before using standard methods. The solution is then treated with various reagents to test for reactions characteristic of certain ions, which may cause color change, precipitation and other visible changes.
Iron(II,III) oxide, or black iron oxide, is the chemical compound with formula Fe3O4. It occurs in nature as the mineral magnetite. It is one of a number of iron oxides, the others being iron(II) oxide (FeO), which is rare, and iron(III) oxide (Fe2O3) which also occurs naturally as the mineral hematite. It contains both Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions and is sometimes formulated as FeO ∙ Fe2O3. This iron oxide is encountered in the laboratory as a black powder. It exhibits permanent magnetism and is ferrimagnetic, but is sometimes incorrectly described as ferromagnetic. Its most extensive use is as a black pigment (see: Mars Black). For this purpose, it is synthesized rather than being extracted from the naturally occurring mineral as the particle size and shape can be varied by the method of production.
Pitting corrosion, or pitting, is a form of extremely localized corrosion that leads to the random creation of small holes in metal. The driving power for pitting corrosion is the depassivation of a small area, which becomes anodic while an unknown but potentially vast area becomes cathodic, leading to very localized galvanic corrosion. The corrosion penetrates the mass of the metal, with a limited diffusion of ions.
Ferrate(VI) is the inorganic anion with the chemical formula [FeO4]2−. It is photosensitive, contributes a pale violet colour to compounds and solutions containing it and is one of the strongest water-stable oxidizing species known. Although it is classified as a weak base, concentrated solutions containing ferrate(VI) are corrosive and attack the skin and are only stable at high pH. It is similar to the somewhat more stable permanganate.
Iron(III) oxide-hydroxide or ferric oxyhydroxide is the chemical compound of iron, oxygen, and hydrogen with formula FeO(OH).
Pentetic acid or diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) is an aminopolycarboxylic acid consisting of a diethylenetriamine backbone with five carboxymethyl groups. The molecule can be viewed as an expanded version of EDTA and is used similarly. It is a white solid with limited solubility in water.
A nitrate test is a chemical test used to determine the presence of nitrate ion in solution. Testing for the presence of nitrate via wet chemistry is generally difficult compared with testing for other anions, as almost all nitrates are soluble in water. In contrast, many common ions give insoluble salts, e.g. halides precipitate with silver, and sulfate precipitate with barium.
Iron shows the characteristic chemical properties of the transition metals, namely the ability to form variable oxidation states differing by steps of one and a very large coordination and organometallic chemistry: indeed, it was the discovery of an iron compound, ferrocene, that revolutionalized the latter field in the 1950s. Iron is sometimes considered as a prototype for the entire block of transition metals, due to its abundance and the immense role it has played in the technological progress of humanity. Its 26 electrons are arranged in the configuration [Ar]3d64s2, of which the 3d and 4s electrons are relatively close in energy, and thus it can lose a variable number of electrons and there is no clear point where further ionization becomes unprofitable.
Iron(II) carbonate, or ferrous carbonate, is a chemical compound with formula FeCO
3, that occurs naturally as the mineral siderite. At ordinary ambient temperatures, it is a green-brown ionic solid consisting of iron(II) cations Fe2+
and carbonate anions CO2−
3.
Barium ferrate is the chemical compound of formula BaFeO4. This is a rare compound containing iron in the +6 oxidation state. The ferrate(VI) ion has two unpaired electrons, making it paramagnetic. It is isostructural with BaSO4, and contains the tetrahedral [FeO4]2− anion.
In chemistry, iron(II) refers to the element iron in its +2 oxidation state. In ionic compounds (salts), such an atom may occur as a separate cation (positive ion) denoted by Fe2+.
Sodium ferrioxalate is a chemical compound with the formula Na3Fe(C2O4)3. It often occurs as a hydrate such as Na3[Fe(C2O4)3]·nH2O, are lime green in colour. It is also called sodium oxalatoferrate or sodium trisoxalatoferrate.
The Schikorr reaction formally describes the conversion of the iron(II) hydroxide (Fe(OH)2) into iron(II,III) oxide (Fe3O4). This transformation reaction was first studied by Gerhard Schikorr. The global reaction follows:
Green rust is a generic name for various green crystalline chemical compounds containing iron(II) and iron(III) cations, the hydroxide (HO−
) anion, and another anion such as carbonate (CO2−
3), chloride (Cl−
), or sulfate (SO2−
4), in a layered double hydroxide structure. The most studied varieties are
Potassium ferrooxalate, also known as potassium bisoxalatoferrate(II), is a salt with the formula K
2[Fe(C
2O
4)
2], sometimes abbreviated K
2FeOx
2. The ferrooxalate anion (negative ion) [Fe(C
2O
4)
2]2−
is a transition metal complex, consisting of an atom of iron in the +2 oxidation state bound to two bidentate oxalate ions C
2O2−
4. The anion charge is balanced by two cations (positive ions) of potassium K+
.
Iron(II) selenate (ferrous selenate) is an inorganic compound with the formula FeSeO4. It has anhydrous and several hydrate forms. The pentahydrate has the structure, [Fe(H2O)4]SeO4•H2O, isomorphous to the corresponding iron(II) sulfate. Heptahydrate is also known, in form of unstable green crystalline solid.