Barium green color. Barium sulfate is used as an insoluble additive to oil well drilling fluid, as well as in a purer form, as X-ray radiocontrast agents for imaging the human gastrointestinal tract. The soluble barium ion and soluble compounds are poisonous, and have been used as rodenticides. Barium is a soft, silvery-white metal, with a slight golden shade when ultrapure. The silvery-white color of barium metal rapidly vanishes upon oxidation in air yielding a dark gray oxide layer. Barium has a medium specific weight and good electrical conductivity. Ultrapure barium is very difficult to prepare, and therefore many properties of
Barium bromide Barium bromide Barium bromide is the chemical compound with the formula BaBr. Like barium chloride, it dissolves well in water and is toxic in aqueous solution. BaBr crystallizes in a lead chloride motif, giving white orthorhombic crystals which are deliquescent. In aqueous solution BaBr behaves as a simple salt. Barium bromide reacts with the sulfate ion from sulfuric acid to produce a precipitate of barium sulfate. Similar reactions occur with oxalic acid, hydrofluoric acid, and phosphoric acid. Barium bromide can be prepared from barium sulfide or barium carbonate via reaction with hydrobromic acid to give hydrated barium bromide. This happens