Names | |
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IUPAC name Tungsten trioxide | |
Other names Tungstic anhydride Tungsten(VI) oxide Tungstic oxide | |
Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.013.848 |
PubChem CID | |
RTECS number |
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UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
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Properties | |
WO3 | |
Molar mass | 231.84 g/mol |
Appearance | Canary yellow powder |
Density | 7.16 g/cm3 |
Melting point | 1,473 °C (2,683 °F; 1,746 K) |
Boiling point | 1,700 °C (3,090 °F; 1,970 K) approximation |
insoluble | |
Solubility | slightly soluble in HF |
−15.8·10−6 cm3/mol | |
Structure | |
Monoclinic, mP32 | |
P121/n1, No. 14 | |
Octahedral (WVI) Trigonal planar (O2– ) | |
Hazards | |
Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH): | |
Main hazards | Irritant |
Flash point | Non-flammable |
Safety data sheet (SDS) | External MSDS |
Related compounds | |
Other anions | Tungsten trisulfide |
Other cations | Chromium trioxide Molybdenum trioxide |
Tungsten(III) oxide Tungsten(IV) oxide | |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). |
Tungsten(VI) oxide, also known as tungsten trioxide is a chemical compound of oxygen and the transition metal tungsten, with formula WO3. The compound is also called tungstic anhydride, reflecting its relation to tungstic acid H2WO4. It is a light yellow crystalline solid. [1]
Tungsten(VI) oxide occurs naturally in the form of hydrates, which include minerals: tungstite WO3·H2O, meymacite WO3·2H2O and hydrotungstite (of the same composition as meymacite, however sometimes written as H2WO4). These minerals are rare to very rare secondary tungsten minerals.
In 1841, a chemist named Robert Oxland gave the first procedures for preparing tungsten trioxide and sodium tungstate. [2] He was granted patents for his work soon after, and is considered to be the founder of systematic tungsten chemistry. [2]
The crystal structure of tungsten trioxide is temperature dependent. It is tetragonal at temperatures above 740 °C, orthorhombic from 330 to 740 °C, monoclinic from 17 to 330 °C, triclinic from −50 to 17 °C, and monoclinic again at temperatures below −50 °C. [3] The most common structure of WO3 is monoclinic with space group P21/n. [2]
The pure compound is an electric insulator, but oxygen-deficient varieties, such as WO2.90 = W20O58, are dark blue to purple in color and conduct electricity. They can be prepared by combining the trioxide and the dioxide WO2 at 1000 °C in vacuum. [4] [1]
Possible signs of superconductivity with critical temperatures Tc = 80–90 K were claimed in sodium-doped and oxygen-deficient WO3 crystals. If confirmed, these would be the first superconducting materials containing no copper, with Tc higher than the boiling point of liquid nitrogen at normal pressure. [5] [4]
Tungsten trioxide is obtained as an intermediate in the recovery of tungsten from its minerals. [6] Tungsten ores can be treated with alkalis to produce soluble tungstates. Alternatively, CaWO4, or scheelite, is allowed to react with HCl to produce tungstic acid, which decomposes to WO3 and water at high temperatures. [6]
Another common way to synthesize WO3 is by calcination of ammonium paratungstate (APT) under oxidizing conditions: [2]
Tungsten trioxide can be reduced with carbon or hydrogen gas yielding the pure metal.[ citation needed ]
Tungsten trioxide is a starting material for the synthesis of tungstates. Barium tungstate BaWO4 is used as a x-ray screen phosphors. Alkali metal tungstates, such as lithium tungstate Li2WO4 and cesium tungstate Cs2WO4, give dense solutions that can be used to separate minerals. [1] Other applications, actual or potential, include:
An oxide is a chemical compound containing at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– ion with oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the Earth's crust consists of oxides. Even materials considered pure elements often develop an oxide coating. For example, aluminium foil develops a thin skin of Al2O3 that protects the foil from further oxidation.
Tungsten is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolated as a metal in 1783. Its important ores include scheelite and wolframite, the latter lending the element its alternate name.
Zirconium dioxide is a white crystalline oxide of zirconium. Its most naturally occurring form, with a monoclinic crystalline structure, is the mineral baddeleyite. A dopant stabilized cubic structured zirconia, cubic zirconia, is synthesized in various colours for use as a gemstone and a diamond simulant.
Wolframite is an iron, manganese, and tungstate mineral with a chemical formula of (Fe,Mn)WO4 that is the intermediate mineral between ferberite (Fe2+ rich) and hübnerite (Mn2+ rich). Along with scheelite, the wolframite series are the most important tungsten ore minerals. Wolframite is found in quartz veins and pegmatites associated with granitic intrusives. Associated minerals include cassiterite, scheelite, bismuth, quartz, pyrite, galena, sphalerite, and arsenopyrite.
Tungsten(VI) fluoride, also known as tungsten hexafluoride, is an inorganic compound with the formula WF6. It is a toxic, corrosive, colorless gas, with a density of about 13 kg/m3 (22 lb/cu yd). It is one of the densest known gases under standard conditions. WF6 ls commonly used by the semiconductor industry to form tungsten films, through the process of chemical vapor deposition. This layer is used in a low-resistivity metallic "interconnect". It is one of seventeen known binary hexafluorides.
Hübnerite or hubnerite is a mineral consisting of manganese tungsten oxide (chemical formula MnWO4). It is the manganese endmember of the manganese–iron wolframite solid solution series. It forms reddish brown to black monoclinic prismatic submetallic crystals. The crystals are typically flattened and occur with fine striations. It has a high specific gravity of 7.15 and a Mohs hardness of 4.5. It is transparent to translucent with perfect cleavage. Refractive index values are nα = 2.170 - 2.200, nβ = 2.220, and nγ = 2.300 - 2.320.
Zirconium tungstate (ZrWO4) is the zirconium salt of tungstic acid and has unusual properties. The phase formed at ambient pressure by reaction of ZrO2 and WO3 is a metastable cubic phase, which has negative thermal expansion characteristics, namely it shrinks over a wide range of temperatures when heated. In contrast to most other ceramics exhibiting negative CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion), the CTE of ZrW2O8 is isotropic and has a large negative magnitude (average CTE of -7.2x10−6K−1) over a wide range of temperature (-273 °C to 777 °C). A number of other phases are formed at high pressures.
Electrochromism is a phenomenon in which a material displays changes in color or opacity in response to an electrical stimulus. In this way, a smart window made of an electrochromic material can block specific wavelengths of ultraviolet, visible or (near) infrared light. The ability to control the transmittance of near-infrared light can increase the energy efficiency of a building, reducing the amount of energy needed to cool during summer and heat during winter.
Molybdenum trioxide describes a family of inorganic compounds with the formula MoO3(H2O)n where n = 0, 1, 2. These compounds are produced on the largest scale of any molybdenum compound. The anhydrous oxide is a precursor to molybdenum metal, an important alloying agent. It is also an important industrial catalyst. It is a yellow solid, although impure samples can appear blue or green.
In chemistry, a tungstate is a compound that contains an oxyanion of tungsten or is a mixed oxide containing tungsten. The simplest tungstate ion is WO2−4, "orthotungstate". Many other tungstates belong to a large group of polyatomic ions that are termed polyoxometalates, ("POMs"), and specifically termed isopolyoxometalates as they contain, along with oxygen and maybe hydrogen, only one other element. Almost all useful tungsten ores are tungstates.
Tungstic acid refers to hydrated forms of tungsten trioxide, WO3. Both a monohydrate (WO3·H2O) and hemihydrate (WO3·1/2 H2O) are known. Molecular species akin to sulfuric acid, i.e. (HO)2WO2 are not observed.
Sodium tungstate is the inorganic compound with the formula Na2WO4. This white, water-soluble solid is the sodium salt of tungstic acid. It is useful as a source of tungsten for chemical synthesis. It is an intermediate in the conversion of tungsten ores to the metal.
Curium(III) oxide is a compound composed of curium and oxygen with the chemical formula Cm2O3. It is a crystalline solid with a unit cell that contains two curium atoms and three oxygen atoms. The simplest synthesis equation involves the reaction of curium(III) metal with O2−: 2 Cm3+ + 3 O2− ---> Cm2O3. Curium trioxide can exist as five polymorphic forms. Two of the forms exist at extremely high temperatures, making it difficult for experimental studies to be done on the formation of their structures. The three other possible forms which curium sesquioxide can take are the body-centered cubic form, the monoclinic form, and the hexagonal form. Curium(III) oxide is either white or light tan in color and, while insoluble in water, is soluble in inorganic and mineral acids. Its synthesis was first recognized in 1955.
Non-stoichiometric compounds are chemical compounds, almost always solid inorganic compounds, having elemental composition whose proportions cannot be represented by a ratio of small natural numbers ; most often, in such materials, some small percentage of atoms are missing or too many atoms are packed into an otherwise perfect lattice work.
Tungsten(IV) oxide is the chemical compound with the formula WO2. The bronze-colored solid crystallizes in a monoclinic cell. The rutile-like structure features distorted octahedral WO6 centers with alternate short W–W bonds (248 pm). Each tungsten center has the d2 configuration, which gives the material a high electrical conductivity.
Tungsten oxytetrafluoride is an inorganic compound with the formula WOF4. It is a colorless diamagnetic solid. The compound is one of many oxides of tungsten. It is usually encountered as product of the partial hydrolysis of tungsten hexafluoride.
Ammonium paratungstate (or APT) is a white crystalline salt with the chemical formula (NH4)10(H2W12O42)·4H2O. It is described as "the most important raw material for all other tungsten products."
Molybdenum dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula MoO2. It is a violet-colored solid and is a metallic conductor. The mineralogical form of this compound is called tugarinovite, and is only very rarely found.
Nickel tungstate is an inorganic compound of nickel, tungsten and oxygen, with the chemical formula of NiWO4.
Neodymium tungstate is an inorganic compound, a salt of neodymium and tungstic acid with the chemical formula Nd2(WO4)3. It forms hydrated light purple crystals that are slightly soluble in water.