Ceric oxide

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Description

A whitish or pale yellow powder used as an abrasive, catalyst and as an ingredient in glass and glazes. As a commercial abrasive, ceric oxide is a brown color due to impurities. It is used to polish gemstones and glass, especially optical surfaces and automobile windshields. Ceric oxide is added to soda-lime mixtures as a decolorizer and to ceramics to increase opacity.

Synonyms and Related Terms

ceria; cerium oxide; cerium dioxide; Ceriorouge; optician's rouge

Risks

  • Noncombustible.
  • Inhalation and contact may cause irritation.
  • Fisher Scientific: MSDS

Physical and Chemical Properties

Soluble in sulfuric acid. Insoluble in water and dilute acid.

Composition CeO2
CAS 1306-38-3
Melting Point 2600 C
Density 6.1 g/ml
Molecular Weight mol. wt. = 172.1188

Comparisons

Properties of Common Abrasives

Resources and Citations

  • G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 177
  • Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993
  • Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997
  • The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 2035
  • The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998
  • Michael McCann, Artist Beware, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York City, 1979
  • MSDS Sheet Comment: Fisher Scientific: density = 6.1