Magnesium oxide Magnesium oxide Magnesium oxide (MgO), or magnesia, is a white hygroscopic solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase and is a source of magnesium (see also oxide). It has an empirical formula of and consists of a lattice of Mg ions and O ions held together by ionic bonding. Magnesium hydroxide forms in the presence of water (MgO + HO → Mg(OH)), but it can be reversed by heating it to separate moisture. Magnesium oxide was historically known as magnesia alba (literally, the white mineral from magnesia – other sources give magnesia alba as MgCO), to differentiate it from "magnesia
Iron(III) oxide Iron(III) oxide Iron(III) oxide or ferric oxide is the inorganic compound with the formula FeO. It is one of the three main oxides of iron, the other two being iron(II) oxide (FeO), which is rare, and iron(II,III) oxide (FeO), which also occurs naturally as the mineral magnetite. As the mineral known as hematite, FeO is the main source of iron for the steel industry. FeO is readily attacked by acids. Iron(III) oxide is often called rust, and to some extent this label is useful, because rust shares several properties and has a similar composition. To a chemist, rust is considered