Zinc nitrate
{{chembox
| Verifiedfields = changed
| Watchedfields = changed
| verifiedrevid = 470636543
| Name = Zinc nitrate
| ImageFile = Zinc nitrate.svg
| ImageClass = skin-invert-image
| ImageSize =
| ImageName = Zinc nitrate
| ImageFile1 = Dusičnan zinečnatý.JPG
| IUPACName = Zinc nitrate
| OtherNames = Zinc dinitrate
|Section1={{Chembox Identifiers
| ChemSpiderID_Ref = {{chemspidercite|correct|chemspider}}
| ChemSpiderID = 22926
| ChEBI = 231504
| PubChem = 24518
| InChI = 1/2NO3.Zn/c2*2-1(3)4;/q2*-1;+2
| InChIKey = ONDPHDOFVYQSGI-UHFFFAOYAQ
| SMILES = [N+](=O)([O-])[O-].[N+](=O)([O-])[O-].[Zn+2]
| StdInChI_Ref = {{stdinchicite|correct|chemspider}}
| StdInChI = 1S/2NO3.Zn/c2*2-1(3)4;/q2*-1;+2
| StdInChIKey_Ref = {{stdinchicite|correct|chemspider}}
| StdInChIKey = ONDPHDOFVYQSGI-UHFFFAOYSA-N
| CASNo = 7779-88-6
| CASNo_Ref = {{cascite|correct|CAS}}
| CASNo2_Ref = {{cascite|changed|??}}
| CASNo2 = 19154-63-3
| CASNo2_Comment = (tetrahydrate)
| CASNo3_Ref = {{cascite|changed|??}}
| CASNo3 = 10196-18-6
| CASNo3_Comment = (hexahydrate)
| UNII_Ref = {{fdacite|correct|FDA}}
| UNII = EDO66F5U49
| EINECS = 231-943-8
| UNNumber = 1514
| RTECS = ZH4772000
}}
|Section2={{Chembox Properties
| Formula = {{chem2|Zn(NO3)2}}
| MolarMass = 189.36 g/mol (anhydrous)
297.49 g/mol (hexahydrate)
| Appearance = colorless, deliquescent crystals
| Density = 2.065 g/cm3 (hexahydrate)
| Solubility = 327 g/(100 mL), 40 °C (trihydrate)
184.3 g/(100 mL), 20 °C (hexahydrate)
| SolubleOther = very soluble in alcohol
| MeltingPtC = 110
| MeltingPt_notes = (anhydrous)
45.5 °C (trihydrate)
36.4 °C (hexahydrate)
| BoilingPt= ~
| BoilingPtC = 125
| BoilingPt_notes = decomposes (hexahydrate)
| MagSus = −63.0·10−6 cm3/mol
}}
|Section7={{Chembox Hazards
| ExternalSDS = [http://www.inchem.org/documents/icsc/icsc/eics1206.htm ICSC 1206]
| GHSPictograms = {{GHS03}}{{GHS07}}
| MainHazards = Oxidant, may explode on heating
| FlashPt = Non-flammable
}}
|Section8={{Chembox Related
| OtherAnions = Zinc sulfate
Zinc chloride
| OtherCations = Cadmium nitrate
Mercury(II) nitrate
| OtherCompounds = Copper(II) nitrate
}}
}}
Zinc nitrate is an inorganic chemical compound with the formula {{chem2|Zn(NO3)2}}. This colorless, crystalline salt is highly deliquescent. It is typically encountered as a hexahydrate {{chem2|Zn(NO3)2*6H2O}}. It is soluble in both water and alcohol.
Synthesis
Zinc nitrate is usually prepared by dissolving zinc metal, zinc oxide, or related materials in nitric acid:
:{{chem2|Zn + 2 HNO3 → Zn(NO3)2 + H2}}
:{{chem2|ZnO + 2 HNO3 → Zn(NO3)2 + H2O}}
These reactions are accompanied by the hydration of the zinc nitrate.
The anhydrous salt arises by the reaction of anhydrous zinc chloride with nitrogen dioxide:{{Greenwood&Earnshaw2nd|page=455}}
:{{chem2|ZnCl2 + 4 NO2 → Zn(NO3)2 + 2 NOCl}}
Reactions
Treatment of zinc nitrate with acetic anhydride gives zinc acetate.{{cite book|author1=O. F. Wagenknecht|author2=R. Juza|chapter=Zinc Acetate|title=Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd Ed. |editor=G. Brauer|publisher=Academic Press|year=1963|place=NY, NY|volume=2|page=1087}}
On heating, zinc nitrate undergoes thermal decomposition to form zinc oxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxygen:
:{{chem2|2 Zn(NO3)2 → 2 ZnO + 4 NO2 + 1 O2}}
Aqueous zinc nitrate contains aquo complexes {{chem2|[Zn(H2O)6](2+) and [Zn(H2O)4](2+)}}.Sze, Yu-Keung, and Donald E. Irish. "Vibrational spectral studies of ion-ion and ion-solvent interactions. I. Zinc nitrate in water." Journal of Solution Chemistry 7.6 (1978): 395-415. and, thus, this reaction may be better written as the reaction of the aquated ion with hydroxide through donation of a proton, as follows.
Applications
Zinc nitrate has no large scale application but is used on a laboratory scale for the synthesis of coordination polymers.{{cite journal|last1=Barnett|first1=Sarah A|last2=Champness|first2=Neil R|title=Structural diversity of building-blocks in coordination framework synthesis—combining M(NO3)2 junctions and bipyridyl ligands|journal=Coordination Chemistry Reviews|date=November 2003|volume=246|issue=1–2|pages=145–168|doi=10.1016/S0010-8545(03)00121-8}} Its controlled decomposition to zinc oxide has also been used for the generation of various ZnO based structures, including nanowires.{{cite journal|last1=Greene|first1=Lori E.|last2=Yuhas|first2=Benjamin D.|last3=Law|first3=Matt|last4=Zitoun|first4=David|last5=Yang|first5=Peidong|title=Solution-Grown Zinc Oxide Nanowires|journal=Inorganic Chemistry|date=September 2006|volume=45|issue=19|pages=7535–7543|doi=10.1021/ic0601900|pmid=16961338 }}
It is used as a corrosion inhibitor. {{cite web|title= Zinc nitrate uses|url=https://amizaraspecialitychemicals.co.in/product/zinc-nitrate/|publisher=Amizara Speciality Chemicals LLP|date=10 March 2025}}
It can be used as a mordant in dyeing. An example reaction gives a precipitate of zinc carbonate: