Water of crystallization degree of hydration can be critical to the resulting chemical properties. For example, anhydrous RhCl is not soluble in water and is relatively useless in organometallic chemistry whereas RhCl•3HO is versatile. Similarly, hydrated AlCl is a poor Lewis acid and thus inactive as a catalyst for Friedel-Crafts reactions. Samples of AlCl must therefore be protected from atmospheric moisture to preclude the formation of hydrates. Crystals of hydrated copper(II) sulfate consist of [Cu(HO)] centers linked to SO ions. Copper is surrounded by six oxygen atoms, provided by two different sulfate groups and four molecules of water. A fifth water resides elsewhere
Chemical composition Chemical composition Chemical composition refers to the identity and relative number of the chemical elements that make up any particular compound. The chemical composition of a pure substance corresponds to the relative amounts of the elements that constitute the substance itself. It can be expressed with a chemical formula, such as an empirical or molecular formula. For example, the chemical formula for water is HO: this means that each molecule of water is constituted by 2 atoms of hydrogen (H) and 1 atom of oxygen (O). Thus the chemical composition of water may be interpreted as a 2:1 ratio of