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Potassium perchlorate

 

 
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Potassium perchlorate
 
 
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Potassium perchlorate is the inorganic salt with the chemical formula K
Potassium

Potassium is a chemical element. It has the symbol K , atomic number 19, and atomic mass 39.0983. Potassium was first isolated from potash, hence the name....
Cl
Chlorine

Chlorine...
O4
Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
. Like other a perchlorate
Perchlorate

Perchlorates are the salt derived from perchloric acid . They occur both naturally and through manufacturing. They have been used as a medicine for more than 50 years to treat thyroid gland disorders....
s, this salt is a strong oxidizer
Oxidizing agent

An oxidizing agent can be defined as either:#a chemical compound that readily transfers oxygen atoms, or#a substance that gains electrons in a redox chemical reaction...
. It is usually obtained as a colorless, crystalline powder. It is one of the most common oxidizers used in fireworks
Fireworks

A firework is classified as a low explosive material pyrotechnics device used primarily for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display....
, ammunition
Ammunition

Ammunition, often referred to as ammo, is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery....
 percussion cap
Percussion cap

The percussion cap, introduced around 1830, was the crucial invention that enabled Muzzleloader firearms to fire reliably in any weather. Before this development, firearms used flintlock ignition systems which produced flint-on-steel sparks to ignite a pan of priming powder and thereby fire the gun's main powder charge....
s, explosive primers, and is used variously in propellant
Propellant

A propellant is a material that is used to move an object. This will often involve a chemical reaction. It may be a gas, liquid, Plasma , or, before the chemical reaction, a solid....
s, flash compositions
Flash powder

Flash powder is pyrotechnic composition, a mixture of oxidizer and metallic fuel which burns quickly and if confined will produce a loud report....
, stars, and sparklers. It has been used as a solid rocket
Solid rocket

A solid rocket or a solid-fuel rocket is a rocket with a motor that uses Rocket fuel#Solid propellants . The earliest rockets were solid fueled, powered by gunpowder, used by the Science and technology in China and Inventions in the Muslim world in warfare as early as the 13th century....
 propellant, although in that application it has mostly been replaced by the higher performance ammonium perchlorate
Ammonium perchlorate

Ammonium perchlorate is a chemical compound with the formula NitrogenHydrogen4ChlorineOxygen4.It is the salt of ammonia and perchloric acid....
.






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Encyclopedia


Potassium perchlorate is the inorganic salt with the chemical formula K
Potassium

Potassium is a chemical element. It has the symbol K , atomic number 19, and atomic mass 39.0983. Potassium was first isolated from potash, hence the name....
Cl
Chlorine

Chlorine...
O4
Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
. Like other a perchlorate
Perchlorate

Perchlorates are the salt derived from perchloric acid . They occur both naturally and through manufacturing. They have been used as a medicine for more than 50 years to treat thyroid gland disorders....
s, this salt is a strong oxidizer
Oxidizing agent

An oxidizing agent can be defined as either:#a chemical compound that readily transfers oxygen atoms, or#a substance that gains electrons in a redox chemical reaction...
. It is usually obtained as a colorless, crystalline powder. It is one of the most common oxidizers used in fireworks
Fireworks

A firework is classified as a low explosive material pyrotechnics device used primarily for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display....
, ammunition
Ammunition

Ammunition, often referred to as ammo, is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery....
 percussion cap
Percussion cap

The percussion cap, introduced around 1830, was the crucial invention that enabled Muzzleloader firearms to fire reliably in any weather. Before this development, firearms used flintlock ignition systems which produced flint-on-steel sparks to ignite a pan of priming powder and thereby fire the gun's main powder charge....
s, explosive primers, and is used variously in propellant
Propellant

A propellant is a material that is used to move an object. This will often involve a chemical reaction. It may be a gas, liquid, Plasma , or, before the chemical reaction, a solid....
s, flash compositions
Flash powder

Flash powder is pyrotechnic composition, a mixture of oxidizer and metallic fuel which burns quickly and if confined will produce a loud report....
, stars, and sparklers. It has been used as a solid rocket
Solid rocket

A solid rocket or a solid-fuel rocket is a rocket with a motor that uses Rocket fuel#Solid propellants . The earliest rockets were solid fueled, powered by gunpowder, used by the Science and technology in China and Inventions in the Muslim world in warfare as early as the 13th century....
 propellant, although in that application it has mostly been replaced by the higher performance ammonium perchlorate
Ammonium perchlorate

Ammonium perchlorate is a chemical compound with the formula NitrogenHydrogen4ChlorineOxygen4.It is the salt of ammonia and perchloric acid....
. KClO4 has the lowest solubility
Solubility

Solubility is often seen as a property of a substance; for instance the solubility of a solid substance usually refers to the concentration of the substance in a liquid that has reached equilibrium with the substance in solid phase ....
 of the alkali metal
Alkali metal

The alkali metals are a chemical series of chemical elements comprising Periodic table group of the periodic table: lithium , sodium , potassium , rubidium , caesium , and francium ....
 perchlorates (1.5 g in 100 g of water at 25 °C).

Production

Potassium perchlorate is produced by double decomposition reaction with sodium perchlorate
Sodium perchlorate

Sodium perchlorate is a perchlorate of sodium and has the formula NaClO4. Sodium perchlorate melts with decomposition at 480 ?C. Its heat of formation is -382.75 kJ mol-1....
 and potassium chloride
Potassium chloride

The chemical compound potassium chloride is a metal halide Salt composed of potassium and chlorine. In its pure state it is odorless. It has a white or colorless vitreous crystal, with a crystal structure that cleaves easily in three directions....
. Sodium perchlorate is manufactured by anodic oxidation of sodium chloride
Sodium chloride

Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or halite, is a chemical compound with the chemical formula SodiumChlorine....
.

Oxidizing properties

KClO4 is an oxidizer in the sense that it exothermically transfers oxygen to organic compounds. Thus, with glucose
Glucose

Glucose , a monosaccharide also known as grape sugar, blood sugar, or corn sugar, is a very important carbohydrate in biology....
 it gives carbon dioxide:
3 KClO4 + C6H12O6 ? 6 H2O + 6 CO2 + 3 KCl
The conversion of solid glucose into hot gaseous CO2 is the basis of the explosive force of such mixtures. Even with cane sugar, KClO4 yields a low explosive, provided the necessary confinement. Otherwise such mixtures simply deflagrate with an intense purple flame characteristic of potassium
Potassium

Potassium is a chemical element. It has the symbol K , atomic number 19, and atomic mass 39.0983. Potassium was first isolated from potash, hence the name....
. Flash compositions used in firecracker
Firecracker

A firecracker is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang; any visual effect is incidental to this goal....
s usually consist of fine aluminium
Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white and ductile member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al; its atomic number is 13....
 powder mixed with potassium perchlorate.

As an oxidizer, potassium perchlorate can be used safely in the presence of sulfur
Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element that has the atomic number 16. It is denoted with the symbol S. It is an abundant Valence non-metal....
, whereas potassium chlorate
Potassium chlorate

Potassium chlorate is a compound containing potassium, chlorine and oxygen, with the chemical formula KClO3. In pure form, it is a white crystalline substance....
 cannot. The greater reactivity of chlorate is typical - perchlorates are kinetically poorer oxidants. Chlorate produces chloric acid
Chloric acid

Chloric acid, HydrogenChlorineOxygen3, is an oxoacid of chlorine, and the formal precursor of chlorate salts. It is a strong acid and oxidizing agent....
, which is highly unstable and can lead to premature ignition of the composition. Correspondingly, perchloric acid
Perchloric acid

Perchloric acid, HClO4, is an oxoacid of chlorine and is a colorless liquid soluble in water . It is a strong acid comparable in strength to sulfuric acid and nitric acids....
 is quite stable whereas chloric acid is not.

In medicine

Potassium perchlorate can be used as a antithyroid agent used to treat hyperthyroidism
Hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism is the term for overactive tissue within the thyroid gland,resulting in overproduction and thus an excess of circulating free thyroid hormones: thyroxine , triiodothyronine , or both....
, usually in combination with one other medication. This application exploits the similar ionic radii and hydrophilicity of perchlorate and iodide
Iodide

An iodide ion is an iodine with a −1 electric charge. Compounds with iodine in formal oxidation state −1 are called iodides. This can include ionic compounds such as caesium iodide or covalent compounds such as phosphorus triiodide....
.

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