Barium Hydroxide(Ba(OH)2) Properties(25 Complete Facts)

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Barium hydroxide Ba(OH)2 is one of the principal compounds of Barium. Let us learn about its important properties.

Barium hydroxide is a chemical compound used in the titration of acids. Barium hydroxide is an important industrial precursor to many Barium compounds. Barium hydroxide is also a catalyst in many organic/inorganic reactions.

Now let us explore Barium hydroxide’s nomenclature, important properties, and structure in this article.

Barium hydroxide IUPAC name

The IUAPC name of Barium hydroxide is barium(2+) dihydroxide. The (+2) indicates the oxidation state, and the suffix di indicates the presence of two hydroxide ions.

Barium hydroxide chemical formula

The chemical formula of Barium hydroxide is Ba(OH)2.

Barium hydroxide CAS number

The CAS number of Barium hydroxide is 17194-00-2.

Barium hydroxide ChemSpider ID

The ChemSpider ID of Ba(OH)2 is 26408

Barium hydroxide chemical classification

Ba(OH)2 is chemically classified as an:

Barium hydroxide molar mass

Ba(OH)2‘s Molar Mass is 171.343. The calculation is shown below:

Molar mass of Ba(OH)2=MBa+2*MOH

=137.327+2*17.008

= 171.343

Barium hydroxide color

Ba(OH)2 is white.

Barium hydroxide molar density

Barium Hydroxide exists in 2 forms; the densities are as given below:

  • The molar density of Ba(OH)2 monohydrate is 0.0197684 mol/cm3 since its density is 3.743 g/cm3.
  • The molar density of Ba(OH)2 octahydrate is 0.00691311 mol/cm3 since its density is 2.180 g/cm3.

Barium hydroxide melting point

The melting point of anhydrous Ba(OH)2 is 407 °C

Barium hydroxide boiling point

The boiling point of Ba(OH)2 is 780 °C.

Barium hydroxide state at room temperature

Ba(OH)2 is a granular solid/clear powder at room temperature (both forms)

Barium hydroxide ionic/covalent bond

Ba2+ and OH– ions are joined by ionic bonds. The bond between O and H in OH– ion is covalent, and the electrons are shared.

Barium hydroxide ionic radius

The ionic radius is not defined for Ba(OH)2 since the ionic radius is defined and measured only for atoms and not molecules.

Barium hydroxide electron configurations

Electron configurations show how electrons are distributed in an atomic or molecular orbital. Let us learn the electronic configuration of Barium Hydroxide.

  • The electron configuration of Ba2+ in Barium hydroxide is 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6, which can also be written in terms of noble gas configuration as [Xe]6s0.
  • The MO configuration of OH– is 1s2 2s2 σ2pz2 π2pX2 π2py2

Barium hydroxide oxidation state

Ba atom is in a +2 Oxidation state. The O atom is in an oxidation state of -2. H atom is in an oxidation state of +1.

Barium hydroxide alkaline

Since Ba(OH)2 is a hydroxide of alkaline earth metal, it is highly alkaline and strongly basic.

Is Barium hydroxide odourless

Ba(OH)2 has no odour; hence it is odourless.

Is Barium hydroxide paramagnetic

The substances with an unpaired electron in their atomic/molecular orbital, paramagnetic substances, are weakly attracted to magnets. Let us find out if Ba(OH)2 is paramagnetic.

Barium hydroxide is not paramagnetic since all the electrons are paired.

Barium hydroxide hydrates

Barium hydroxide has three observed forms of hydrates, listed below, with decreasing amounts of water of hydration.

  • Octahydrate: When Barium hydroxide is in the presence of water, it forms an octahydrate.
  • Trihydrate: It is formed when the Barium hydroxide octahydrate is heated and first dissolves in its own waters of hydration (78 °C) and then loses four water molecules to form the trihydrate at about 125 °C, it is not stable, and finally, a monohydrate form is observed
  • Monohydrate: It is formed after Barium hydroxide octahydrate is heated to around 180 °C. It is another stable form of Barium hydroxide.

Barium hydroxide crystal structure

  • Ba(OH)2 octahydrate forms monoclinic crystals which belong P21/n space group. It has four formula units in a cell of dimensions a = 9.35 Å, b = 9.28 Å, c = 11.87 Å with β = 99°.
  • Ba(OH)2 trihydrate has been determined to have an orthorhombic crystal belonging to space group Pnma with a = 7.640 Å, b = 11.403 Å, c = 5.965 Å, V = 519.7 Å3, Z = 4.
  • Ba(OH)2 monohydrate adopts a layered structure with Ba2+ centers adopting a square anti-prismatic geometry.

Barium hydroxide polarity and conductivity

  • Ba(OH)2 is polar since it is an ionic compound.
  • Ba(OH)2 conducts electricity in an aqueous solution since it gives two hydroxide ions per molecule and a Ba2+ cation. Similarly, it will also provide ions to conduct electricity in the molten state.

Barium hydroxide reaction with acid

Ba(OH)2 will react with acids and produce corresponding salts, for example.

Ba(OH)2+2HCl→BaCl2+2H2O

Barium hydroxide reaction with base

Ba(OH)2 does not react with bases.

Barium hydroxide reaction with oxide

Ba(OH)2 reacts with acidic non-metal oxides to form carbonates, for example.

Ba(OH)2 + H2CO3  -> BaCO3 + 2H2O

Conclusion

We learned about Ba(OH)2, a highly reactive compound particularly useful in laboratories for analytical and catalytic uses and various processes in oil and water industries.