Cadmium acetate


Cadmium acetate is the chemical compound with the formula. The compound is marketed both as the anhydrous form and as a dihydrate, both of which are white or colorless. Only the dihydrate has been verified by X-ray crystallography.

Preparation, reactions, and uses

It forms by treating cadmium oxide with acetic acid:
It can also be prepared by treating cadmium nitrate with acetic anhydride.
Cadmium acetate has few applications. By reaction with trioctylphosphine selenide, it has often been used as a precursor to cadmium selenide 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, featuring acetate ligands interconnecting cadmium centers.

Safety

Cadmium compounds are considered Group 1 carcinogens by the IARC.