Ammonium carbonate
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| Names | |
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| IUPAC name
Ammonium carbonate
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| Other names
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3D model (JSmol)
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| UN number | 3077 |
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| Properties | |
| Page Module:Chem2/styles.css has no content.[NH4]2CO3 | |
| Molar mass | 96.086 g·mol−1 |
| Appearance | White powder |
| Density | 1.50 g/cm3 |
| Melting point | 58 °C (136 °F; 331 K) (decomposes) |
| 100 g/(100 ml) (15°C)[1] 25 g/(100 ml) (20°C) | |
| −42.50·10−6 cm3/mol | |
| Hazards | |
| Safety data sheet (SDS) | External MSDS |
| Related compounds | |
Other anions
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Ammonium bicarbonate Ammonium carbamate |
Other cations
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Sodium carbonate Potassium carbonate |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Ammonium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula Page Module:Chem2/styles.css has no content.[NH4]2CO3. It is an ammonium salt of carbonic acid. It is composed of ammonium cations Page Module:Chem2/styles.css has no content.[NH4]+ and carbonate anions Page Module:Chem2/styles.css has no content.CO2−3. Since ammonium carbonate readily degrades to gaseous ammonia and carbon dioxide upon heating, it is used as a leavening agent and also as smelling salt. It is also known as baker's ammonia and is a predecessor to the more modern leavening agents baking soda and baking powder. It is a component of what was formerly known as sal volatile and salt of hartshorn,[2] and produces a pungent smell when baked. It comes in the form of a white powder or block, with a molar mass of 96.09 g/mol and a density of 1.50 g/cm3. It is a strong electrolyte.
Production
Ammonium carbonate is produced by combining carbon dioxide and aqueous ammonia. About 80,000 tons/year were produced as of 1997.
- Page Module:Chem2/styles.css has no content.2 NH3 + H2O + CO2 → [NH4]2CO3[2]
An orthorhombic ammonium carbonate monohydrate is known (Page Module:Chem2/styles.css has no content.[NH4]2CO3·H2O). It crystallizes in an ammonia solution exposed in a carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere.[3]
Decomposition
Ammonium carbonate slowly decomposes at standard temperature and pressure through two pathways. Thus any initially pure sample of ammonium carbonate will soon become a mixture including various byproducts.
Ammonium carbonate can spontaneously decompose into ammonium bicarbonate and ammonia:
- Page Module:Chem2/styles.css has no content.[NH4]2CO3 → [NH4]HCO3 + NH3
Which further decomposes to carbon dioxide, water and another molecule of ammonia:
- Page Module:Chem2/styles.css has no content.[NH4]HCO3 → H2O + CO2 + NH3
Uses
Leavening agent
Ammonium carbonate may be used as a leavening agent in traditional recipes, particularly those from northern Europe and Scandinavia (e.g. Amerikaner, Speculoos, Tunnbröd or Lebkuchen). It was the precursor to today's more commonly used baking powder.
Originally made from ground deer horn and called hartshorn, today it is called baker's ammonia. It is prepared by the sublimation of a mixture of ammonium sulfate and calcium carbonate and occurs as a white powder or a hard, white or translucent mass.[4] It acts as a heat activated leavening agent and breaks down into carbon dioxide (leavening), ammonia (which needs to dissipate) and water. It is sometimes combined with sodium bicarbonate to mimic as a[<span title="Script error: No such module "decodeEncode".">clarification needed] double acting baking powder and to help mask any ammonia smell not baked out.
It also serves as an acidity regulator and has the E number E503. It can be replaced with baking powder, but this may affect both the taste and texture of the finished product. Baker's ammonia should be used to create thin dry baked goods like crackers and cookies. This allows the strong ammonia smell to bake out. It should not be used to make moist baked items like cake since ammonia is hydrophilic and will leave a strong bitter taste.
Its use as a leavening agent, with associated controversy, goes back centuries: Template:Quote
Other uses
Ammonium carbonate is the main component of smelling salts, although the commercial scale of their production is small. Buckley's cough syrup from Canada today uses ammonium carbonate as an active ingredient intended to help relieve symptoms of bronchitis. It is also used as an emetic. It is also found in smokeless tobacco products, and is used in aqueous solution as a photographic lens cleaning agent.
It is also used as bait for apple maggots, to monitor the spread of the infestation and adjust the borders of the Apple Maggot Quarantine Area in Washington State.[5]
See also
- Ammonium bicarbonate
- Ammonium nitrate
- Sal ammoniac, the mineralogical form of ammonium chloride
References
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.John Rumble (June 18, 2018). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (99th ed.). CRC Press. pp. 4–40. ISBN 978-1138561632.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Karl-Heinz Zapp (2012). "Ammonium Compounds". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a02_243. ISBN 978-3527306732.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Fortes, A.D.; Wood, I.G.; Alfè, D.; Hernàndez, E.R.; Gutmann, M.J.; Sparkes, H.A. (2014-12-01). "Structure, hydrogen bonding and thermal expansion of ammonium carbonate monohydrate". Acta Crystallographica Section B. 70 (6): 948–962. Bibcode:2014AcCrB..70..948F. doi:10.1107/S205252061402126X. ISSN 2052-5206. PMC 4468514. PMID 25449618. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21". www.accessdata.fda.gov. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Yee, Wee L.; Nash, Meralee J.; Goughnour, Robert B.; Cha, Dong H.; Linn, Charles E.; Feder, Jeffrey L. (2014). "Ammonium Carbonate is More Attractive Than Apple and Hawthorn Fruit Volatile Lures to Rhagoletis pomonella(Diptera: Tephritidae) in Washington State". Environmental Entomology. 43 (4): 957–968. doi:10.1603/en14038. PMID 24915519. S2CID 31174719.
