Potassium ethyl xanthate Potassium ethyl xanthate Potassium ethyl xanthate (KEX) is an organosulfur compound with the chemical formula CHCHOCSK. It is a pale yellow powder that is used in the mining industry for the separation of ores. Unlike the related sodium ethyl xanthate, the potassium salt exists as an anhydrous salt. Xanthate salts are prepared by the action of alkoxides on carbon disulfide. The alkoxide is often generated in situ from potassium hydroxide: Potassium ethyl xanthate is a pale yellow powder that is stable at high pH but rapidly hydrolyses at pH <9 at 25 °C. Unlike the sodium derivative, potassium xanthate crystallizes
Ethyl nitrate Ethyl nitrate Ethyl nitrate is the ethyl ester of nitric acid and has the chemical formula . It is a colourless, volatile, highly flammable liquid. It is used in organic synthesis and as an intermediate in the preparation of some drugs, dyes, and perfumes. Ethyl nitrate is found in the atmosphere, where it can react with other gases to form smog. Originally thought to be a pollutant, formed mainly by the combustion of fossil fuels, recent analysis of ocean water samples reveal that in places where cool water rises from the deep, the water is saturated with alkyl nitrates, likely