Magnesium sulfate decomposes into magnesium oxide (MgO) and sulfur trioxide (SO). The heptahydrate can be prepared by neutralizing sulfuric acid with magnesium carbonate or oxide, but it is usually obtained directly from natural sources. It is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basic health system. Magnesium sulfate is a common mineral pharmaceutical preparation of magnesium, commonly known as Epsom salt, used both externally and internally. Magnesium sulfate is highly water-soluble and solubility is inhibited with lipids typically used in lotions. Lotions often employ the use of emulsions or suspensions to include both oil
Low valent magnesium compounds Low valent magnesium compounds A number of stable low valent magnesium compounds containing a metal-metal, Mg-Mg, bond, where magnesium exhibits the formal oxidation state of +1 are known. These compounds generally have the formula LMg, where L represents a bulky ligand. The first examples of these stable magnesium(I) compounds were reported in 2007. The chemistry of Mg is dominated by the +2 oxidation state and prior to 2007 only examples of crystalline compounds with short Mg-Mg distances that may indicate an Mg-Mg bond were known, such as the ternary metal hydrides MgRuH, MgRuH, and MgIrH and magnesium diboride, Calculations had