Facts about Ceric Ammonium Nitrate
Ceric Ammonium Nitrate or CAN is a salt used as an oxidizing agent. Its chemical formula is (NH4)2Ce (NO3)6. Ceric Ammonium Nitrate is actually an oxidizing agent composed of one electron which allows intermolecular and intramolecular carbon to carbon and carbon to hetero- atom bond formation. It is also used as an oxidizing agent of secondary alcohols which turns it into ketones and benzylic alcohols are oxidized into aldehydes. Physically, ceric ammonium nitrate appears as an orange- red salt. It is also water soluble. When cerium ammonium nitrate is introduced to temperatures greater than 108 degrees Celsius, the substance will begin to melt. It has a solar mass of 548.256 g/mol. Ceric ammonium nitrate is widely used in organic synthesis. Organic synthesis is the process wherein organic compounds are formed and constructed. It is also used in quantitative analysis where the cerium salt is the standard oxidant. The cerium salts are actually tiny crystals if you look closely. It has a monoclinic crystal structure as well. A monoclinic crystal structure is a crystal with an uneven length of vectors. A rectangular prism is formed in this crystal system.
CAN or ceric ammonium nitrate actually provides Nef reaction an alternative. It is an organic reaction which describes a salt’s acid hydrolysis of a secondary or primary nitroalkene to a ketone, aldehydes or nitrous oxide. Ceric ammonium nitrate is also used for quinoxaline derivatives’ synthesis. Quinoxalines are actually used widely in a lot of industries today. It is used in dyes, semiconductors and is used as a component in antibiotics. Efficient synthesis of quinoxaline derivatives would mean that the quinoxaline will be able to function well and serve its purpose. When it comes to coordination geometry, which is actually the geometrical pattern formation of the atoms around the central atom, ceric ammonium nitrate takes an icosahedron structure. It is actually a regular polyhedron but it has 20 similar and equilateral triangular faces, 12 vertices and 30 edges. Ceric ammonium nitrate can also be used as a reagent for deprotection.
Chrome etchants and Ceric ammonium nitrate
Ceric ammonium nitrate is used in chrome etchants. In fact, it is an important component to it. These are very important in the creation of LCDs or Liquid Crystal Displays. LCDs are used in televisions, computer monitors, signage, clocks and even in an airplane’s cockpit display. Ceric ammonium nitrate is also important in the production of photo masks. Photo masks are used widely in photolithography, which is a process of removing some parts of a film from a substrate. Although used in a lot of items, ceric ammonium nitrate is not the cheapest substance that you can find. It is actually more expensive than other oxidizing agents in the market such as dichromate and permanganate. Scientists and enthusiasts are still looking into how ceric ammonium nitrate can be prepared manually at home without any complications. Some people tried making ceric ammonium nitrate from ferrocerium rods dissolved in hydrochloric acid but the reaction was very violent and gases with heat are produced during the process. So before trying anything about ceric ammonium nitrate formation, make sure you understand the chemical processes behind it.