Nomenclature
CAS number: 7758-89-6
Copper chloride (CuCl); copper(I) chloride; Cu-lyt.
ClCu; mol wt 99.00.
Cl 35.81%, Cu 64.19%.
CuCl.
Description and references
Occurs in nature as the mineral nantokite (colorless to grey cubic crystals). Prepn: Keller, Wycoff, Inorg. Synth. 2, 1 (1946); Glemser,
Sauer in Handbook of Preparative Inorganic
Chemistry vol. 2, G. Brauer, Ed. (Academic
Press, New York, 2nd ed., 1965) p 1005.
Properties
White cryst powder or cubic crystals (zinc-blende
structure); stable to air and light if dry, but in presence of moisture
turns green on exposure to air and blue to brown on exposure to light.
mp 430°; d425 4.14. Sparingly sol in water with partial decompn; practically insol
in alcohol, acetone; sol in concd HCl, concd NH4OH with
formation of complexes. Solns oxidize rapidly in air. Keep tightly closed and protected from light.Use
As catalyst for organic reactions; catalyst, decolorizer
and desulfuring agent in petr industry; in denitration of cellulose;
as condensing agent for soaps, fats and oils; in gas analysis to absorb
carbon monoxide.