Calcium perchlorate is classified as a metal perchlorate salt with the molecular formula Ca(ClO4)2. It is an inorganic compound that is a yellow-white crystalline solid in appearance. As a strong oxidizing agent, it reacts with reducing agents when heated to generate heat and products that may be gaseous (which will cause pressurization in closed containers). Calcium perchlorate has been categorized as having explosive reactivity. Ca(ClO4)2 is a common chemical on the soil of planet Mars, counting for almost 1% of the Martian dust, by weight.
Calcium perchlorate is a strong inorganic oxidizing agent, enhancing the combustion of other substances that can potentially lead to explosion. The perchlorate ion, ClO−4, has a highly symmetrical tetrahedral structure that is strongly stabilized in solution by its low electron-donating proton-accepting power and its relatively low polarizability.
Calcium perchlorate solution forms a simple eutectic system. The eutectic composition of the calcium perchlorate solution is 4.2 mol / 1000 g H2O, very similar to the composition of closely related metal cation perchlorates of strontium and barium.[3][4]
ElectrolyteconductanceofCa(ClO4)2 and double charged metal cations in the organic solvent acetonitrile has been tested.[5] The interest in metal cation perchlorate interactions with photosensitiveligands has increased due to the development of highly specific fluorescence indicators.
Being very hygroscopic, calcium perchlorate is commonly seen in the presence of four water molecules, referred to as calcium perchlorate tetrahydrate Ca(ClO4)2·4H2O.[1]
A hybrid organic-inorganic molecule is formed using dioxazaphosphocanes, eight-membered cyclic hydrogenphosphonates and calcium. Calcium from the calcium perchlorate contributes to the structural integrity of the oligomeric molecule; the four calcium ions are bridged between four dioxazaphosphocane moieties.[8]
^Pestova, O. N.; Myund, L. A.; Khripun, M. K.; Prigaro, A. V. (2005), "Polythermal Study of the Systems M(ClO4)2–H2O (M2+ = Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+)", Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry, 78 (3): 409–413, doi:10.1007/s11167-005-0306-z, S2CID95464181
^Kalugin, Oleg N.; Agieienko, Vira N.; Otroshko, Natalya A. (January 2012), "Ion association and solvation in solutions of Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+ and Ni2+ perchlorates in acetonitrile: Conductometric study", Journal of Molecular Liquids, 165: 78–86, doi:10.1016/j.molliq.2011.10.012
^"Perchlorates", Megalomania's Method of Making Perchlorates, Megalomania's Controversial Chem Lab, archived from the original on March 12, 2005, retrieved June 4, 2023
^Sutra, Elsa; Lamandé, Lydia; Gornitzka, Heinz; Bellan, Jacques (2002), "A New Oligomeric Complex of Cyclic Hydrogenphosphonates with Calcium Perchlorate", European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, 2002 (10): 2727–2729, doi:10.1002/1099-0682(200210)2002:10<2727::AID-EJIC2727>3.0.CO;2-D
