Cadmium acetate is the

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

with the

formula In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwe ...

. The compound is marketed both as the anhydrous form and as a

dihydrate In chemistry, a hydrate is a substance that contains water or its constituent elements. The chemical state of the water varies widely between different classes of hydrates, some of which were so labeled before their chemical structure was understo ...

, both of which are white or colorless. Only the dihydrate has been verified by

X-ray crystallography X-ray crystallography is the experimental science of determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to Diffraction, diffract in specific directions. By measuring th ...

Preparation, reactions, and uses

It forms by treating

cadmium oxide Cadmium oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula CdO. It is one of the main precursors to other cadmium compounds. It crystallizes in a cubic rocksalt lattice like sodium chloride, with octahedral cation and anion centers. It occurs natur ...

with

acetic acid Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is an acidic, colourless liquid and organic compound with the chemical formula (also written as , , or ). Vinegar is at least 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main compone ...

: : It can also be prepared by treating

cadmium nitrate Cadmium nitrate describes any of the related members of a family of inorganic compounds with the general formula . The most commonly encountered form being the tetrahydrate.The anhydrous form is volatile, but the others are colourless crystalline ...

with

acetic anhydride Acetic anhydride, or ethanoic anhydride, is the chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula . Commonly abbreviated , it is one the simplest organic acid anhydride, anhydrides of a carboxylic acid and is widely used in the production of c ...

. Cadmium acetate has few applications. By reaction with trioctylphosphine selenide, it has often been used as a precursor to

cadmium selenide Cadmium selenide is an inorganic compound with the formula Cd Se. It is a black to red-black solid that is classified as a II-VI semiconductor of the n-type. It is a pigment, but applications are declining because of environmental concerns. ...

and related semiconductors.

Structure of the dihydrate

Unlike the coordination geometry of zinc in zinc diacetate dihydrate, cadmium is seven coordinate in . It is a

coordination polymer Coordination may refer to: * Coordination (linguistics), a compound grammatical construction * Coordination complex, consisting of a central atom or ion and a surrounding array of bound molecules or ions ** A chemical reaction to form a coordinat ...

, featuring acetate ligands interconnecting cadmium centers.

Safety

Cadmium compounds are considered Group 1 carcinogens by the IARC.

References

{{Acetates Cadmium compounds Acetates Coordination polymers