Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 24, 2026

Radium nitrate

Radium nitrate is a radioactive salt with the formula Ra(NO3)2. It is a white solid, but old samples appear yellowish-grey. Although radium chloride and radium bromide are less soluble than the corresponding barium salts, radium nitrate is more soluble than barium nitrate. It decomposes at 280 °C to radium oxide.

Last revised
Jul 24, 2026
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Radium nitrate
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Names
Other names
  • Radium(II) nitrate
  • Radium dinitrate
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
  • InChI=1S/2NO3.Ra/c2*2-1(3)4;/q2*-1;+2
    Key: AMLSLPXXUHKKSF-UHFFFAOYSA-N
  • [Ra+2].[O-][N+]([O-])=O.[O-][N+]([O-])=O
Properties
Ra(NO3)2
Molar mass 350.01 g/mol
Appearance White solid1
Melting point 280 °C (536 °F; 553 K) (decomposes)
13.9 g/100 ml
Solubility in nitric acid Insoluble
Related compounds
Other anions
 Radium carbonate
Other cations
 Barium nitrate
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).

Radium nitrate is a radioactive salt with the formula Ra(NO3)2. It is a white solid, but old samples appear yellowish-grey. Although radium chloride and radium bromide are less soluble than the corresponding barium salts, radium nitrate is more soluble than barium nitrate.12 It decomposes at 280 °C to radium oxide.

Production

Radium nitrate is produced by the reaction of radium carbonate or radium sulfate with nitric acid:2

RaCO3 + HNO3 → Ra(NO3)2 + CO2 + H2O
References

References

  1. Otto Erbacher (1930). "Löslichkeits-Bestimmungen einiger Radiumsalze" [Solubility determinations of some radium salts]. Chemische Berichte (in German). 63 (1): 141–156. doi:10.1002/cber.19300630120.
  2. Kirby, H. W.; Salutsky, Murrell L. (1964). The Radiochemistry of Radium (PDF). National Academies Press. pp. 4–8.