Copper(II) chlorate heated, giving off a yellow gas, which contains chlorine, oxygen and chlorine dioxide. A green solid is left that is a basic copper salt. Sulfur is highly reactive with copper chlorate, and it is important not to cross contaminate these chemicals, for example in pyrotechnic making. François-Marie Chertier used tetrammine copper chlorate to colour flames blue in 1843. This material was abbreviated TACC with formula Cu(NH)(ClO). TACC explodes on impact. The substance became known as Chertier'c copper for use in blue coloured pyrotechnics. However its deliquescence causes a problem. Mixtures with other metal salts can yield violet or lilac colours
Chlorate natural chlorate deposits around the world, with relatively high concentrations found in arid and hyper-arid regions. The chlorate was also measured in rainfall samples with the amount of chlorate similar to perchlorate. It is suspected that chlorate and perchlorate may share a common natural formation mechanism and could be a part of the chlorine biogeochemistry cycle. From a microbial standpoint, the presence of natural chlorate could also explain why there is a variety of microorganisms capable of reducing chlorate to chloride. Further, the evolution of chlorate reduction may be an ancient phenomenon as all perchlorate reducing bacteria described to date