Nomenclature
CAS number: 7646-85-7
Zinc chloride (ZnCl
2); butter of zinc.
Cl
2Zn; mol wt 136.32.
Cl 52.01%, Zn 47.98%.
ZnCl
2.
Description and references
Usually contains at least 95% ZnCl2; remainder is chiefly water and oxychloride. Toxicity: Bruner, Fed. Proc. 9, 260 (1950).
Properties
White, odorless, very deliquesc granules, or fused
pieces or rods. d25 2.907; mp 327.9°; bp 732°.
Solubility in H2O: 432 g/100 g (25°); 614 g/100 g (100°).
One gram dissolves in 0.25 ml of 2% HCl, in 1.3 ml alcohol, 2 ml
glycerol; freely sol in acetone. With much water some zinc oxychloride
is formed. The aq soln is acid to litmus; pH about 4. Corrosive. Keep tightly closed. LD i.v. in rats: 60-90 mg/kg (Bruner).Caution
Potential symptoms of overexposure
to fumes are conjunctivitis; irritation of skin, eyes, nose and throat;
coughing, copious sputum; dyspnea, chest pain, pulmonary edema and
bronchopneumonia; pulmonary fibrosis, cor pulmonale; fever; cyanosis;
tachypnea; skin burns. See NIOSH
Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (DHHS/NIOSH 97-140, 1997)
p 338.Use
Deodorant, disinfecting and embalming material;
alone or with phenol and other antiseptics for preserving railway
ties; fireproofing lumber; with ammonium chloride as flux for soldering;
etching metals; manuf parchment paper, artificial silk, dyes, activated
carbon, cold-water glues, vulcanized fiber; browning steel, galvanizing
iron, copper-plating iron; in magnesia cements; petroleum oil refining;
cement for metals and for facing stone; mordant in printing and dyeing
textiles; carbonizing woolen goods; producing crepe and crimping fabrics;
mercerizing cotton; sizing and weighting fabrics; vulcanizing rubber;
solvent for cellulose; preserving anatomical specimens; in microscopy
for separating silk, wool, and plant fibers; as dehydrating agent
in chemical syntheses. Dentin desensitizer.
Therapeutic Category
Astringent.
Therapeutic Category (Veterinary)
Antiseptic, astringent. Has been used
in ulcers, fistulas, pododermatitis.
Keywords
Astringent