Inorganic Compounds

The most important use of zinc carbonate nanopowder  is the zinc metal that can be extracted from the ore. Zinc is a blue-gray, metallic element, resistant to air and water corrosion and a good conductor of electricity. It is often used as a protective layer on iron and steel products to prevent them from rusting. As an alloy, it can be used for paint, chemical, and agricultural applications. It is also found in dry cell batteries, TV screens and fluorescent lights.

There has been an increasing industrial interest in tailor-made nanoparticles due to their potential of new applications. Among such materials is zinc carbonate which found its way as a useful substance in different sectors of the industry. Zinc carbonate nanopowders have been used in respirators due to its effectiveness in removing toxic gases such as SO2 and HCN. One of the most important applications of zinc carbonate is its use as a precursor for the production of ultrafine zinc oxide (ZnO) which has numerous uses in the industry such as in electronics, solar cells, pigments and as an industrial catalyst.

Zinc Carbonate Nanopowder: Smithsonite occurs as a secondary mineral in the weathering or oxidation zone of zinc-bearing ore deposits. It sometimes occurs as replacement bodies in carbonate rocks and as such may constitute zinc ore. It commonly occurs in association with hemimorphite, willemite, hydrozincite, cerussite, malachite, azurite, aurichalcite and anglesite. It forms two limited solid solution series, with substitution of manganese leading to rhodochrosite, and with iron, leading to siderite.

Most carbonate salts are insoluble in water at standard temperature and pressure, with solubility constants of less than 1 × 10−8. Exceptions include lithium, sodium, potassium and ammonium carbonates, as well as many uranium carbonates. In aqueous solution, carbonate, bicarbonate, carbon dioxide, and carbonic acid exist together in a dynamic equilibrium. In strongly basic conditions, the carbonate ion predominates, while in weakly basic conditions, the bicarbonate ion is prevalent. In more acid conditions, aqueous carbon dioxide, CO2(aq), is the main form, which, with water, H2O, is in equilibrium with carbonic acid – the equilibrium lies strongly towards carbon dioxide. Thus sodium carbonate is basic; sodium bicarbonate is weakly basic, while carbon dioxide itself is a weak acid.