Potassium in 1809, Ludwig Wilhelm Gilbert proposed the name "Kalium" for Davy's "potassium". In 1814, the Swedish chemist Berzelius advocated the name "kalium" for potassium, with the chemical symbol "K". The English and French speaking countries adopted Davy and Gay-Lussac/Thénard's name Potassium, while the Germanic countries adopted Gilbert/Klaproth's name Kalium. The "Gold Book" of the International Union of Physical and Applied Chemistry has designated the official chemical symbol as K. Potassium is the second least dense metal after lithium. It is a soft solid with a low melting point, and can be easily cut with a knife. Freshly cut potassium is
Potassium ethoxide Potassium ethoxide Potassium ethoxide, also known as potassium ethanolate, is an off-white or yellow powder with the chemical formula of CHKO. Potassium ethoxide contains an ethoxide ion, the conjugate base of ethanol, which makes this compounds strongly basic. It hydrolyzes to yield ethanol and potassium hydroxide. Potassium ethoxide is used as a strong base, similar to sodium and potassium methoxides, and potassium tert-butoxide. Catalytic amounts of potassium ethoxide in ethanol can be used to perform transesterification reactions that yield ethyl esters. Sodium or potassium ethoxide is also a suitable base for the malonic ester synthesis where diethyl malonate is used,