The key difference between copper oxychloride and copper sulphate is that copper oxychloride is an organic compound of copper and is useful as a fungicide and bactericide whereas copper sulphate is an inorganic compound of copper and is useful as a fungicide and herbicide.
Copper oxychloride and copper sulphate are copper-containing compounds which are useful mainly as fungicides. The chemical formula of copper oxychloride is Cu2(OH)3Cl while the chemical formula of copper sulphate is CuSO4.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Copper Oxychloride
3. What is Copper Sulphate
4. Side by Side Comparison – Copper Oxychloride vs Copper Sulphate in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Copper Oxychloride?
Copper oxychloride is an organic compound having the chemical formula Cu2(OH)3Cl. The IUPAC name of this compound is dicopper chloride trihydroxide. It occurs as a green crystalline solid. We can find it in mineral deposits, metal corrosion products, archaeological objects, etc. In the industrial scale, we produce this compound to be used as a fungicide. Its molar mass is 213.56 g/mol. The melting point of this compound is 250 °C, and it is insoluble in water and organic solvents.
Furthermore, copper oxychloride naturally occurs in four different polymorphic structures: atacamite, paratacamite, clinoatacamite and botallackite. These different polymorphs have different crystal structures:
- Atacamite – orthorhombic
- Paratacamite – rhombohedral
- Clinoatacamite – monoclinic
- Botallackite – monoclinic
Above 220 °C, this compound undergoes decomposition. During this decomposition, it eliminates HCl acid. In a neutral medium, this compound is very stable. But, if it is an alkaline medium, we have warm the medium; then this compound decomposes, giving oxides of copper.
What is Copper Sulphate?
Copper sulphate is an inorganic compound having the chemical formula CuSO4. This compound occurs mainly in hydrated forms. Here, the number of water molecules associated with copper sulphate can range from 0 to 5. Moreover, pentahydrate form is the most common form. The anhydrous form appears as a white powder, but the hydrated forms are bright blue.
When considering the method of production of copper sulfate industrially, we need to treat the copper metal with sulfuric acid. Here, the sulfuric acid is in the hot and concentrated form. However, we can produce this compound using oxides of copper as well; we need to treat the copper oxide with dilute sulfuric acid. Also, we can produce this compound via slowly leaching low-grade copper ore in air. We can use bacteria to catalyze this process.
When considering the chemical properties of this compound, the molar mass is 159.6 g/mol. It appears in grey-white colour. Also, the density is 3.60 g/cm3. When considering the melting point of copper sulfate, it is 110 °C; upon further heating, the compound decomposes.
What is the Difference Between Copper Oxychloride and Copper Sulphate?
Copper oxychloride is an organic compound having the chemical formula Cu2(OH)3Cl, while copper sulphate is an inorganic compound having the chemical formula CuSO4. The key difference between copper oxychloride and copper sulphate is that copper oxychloride is an organic compound of copper, which is useful as a fungicide and bactericide, whereas copper sulphate is an inorganic compound of copper, which is useful as a fungicide and herbicide.
Moreover, a further difference between copper oxychloride and copper sulphate is that copper oxychloride appears as a green crystalline solid, while copper sulphate occurs as either white crystalline powder (anhydrous) or commonly as bright blue coloured crystals (pentahydrate form).
Below infographic gives more comparisons regarding the difference between copper oxychloride and copper sulphate.
Summary – Copper Oxychloride vs Copper Sulphate
Copper oxychloride is an organic compound having the chemical formula Cu2(OH)3Cl while copper sulphate is an inorganic compound having the chemical formula CuSO4. In summary, the key difference between copper oxychloride and copper sulphate is that copper oxychloride is an organic compound of copper which is useful as a fungicide and bactericide, whereas copper sulphate is an inorganic compound of copper which is useful as a fungicide and herbicide.
Reference:
1. “Dicopper Chloride Trihydroxide.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 May 2019, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Alpha Crystal-TBCC” By Nutriquest at English Wikipedia – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Copper sulfate” By Stephanb – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia