Potassium Hydroxide
Potassium hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula KOH, and is commonly called caustic potash.
Along with sodium hydroxide(NaOH), this colorless solid is a prototypical strong base. It has many industrial and niche applications, most of which exploit its corrosive nature and its reactivity toward acids. An estimated 700,000 to 800,000 tonneswere produced in 2005. About 100 times more NaOH than KOH is produced annually.[10] KOH is noteworthy as the precursor to most soft and liquid soaps, as well as numerous potassium-containing chemicals.
| KOH | |
| Molar mass | 56.11 g mol−1 |
| Appearance | white solid, deliquescent |
| Odor | odorless |
| Density | 2.044 g/cm3 (20 °C)[1] 2.12 g/cm3 (25 °C)[2] |
| Melting point | 360[3] °C (680 °F; 633 K) |
| Boiling point | 1,327 °C (2,421 °F; 1,600 K) |
| 85 g/100 g (-23.2 °C) 97 g/100 mL (0 °C) 121 g/100 mL (25 °C) 138.3 g/100 mL (50 °C) 162.9 g/100 mL (100 °C)[1][4] |
|
| Solubility | soluble in alcohol, glycerol insoluble in ether, liquid ammonia |
| Solubility in methanol | 55 g/100 g (28 °C)[2] |
| Solubility in isopropanol | ~14 g / 100 g (28 °C) |
| Basicity (pKb) | −0.7[5](KOH(aq) = K+ + OH–) |
| −22.0·10−6 cm3/mol | |
|
Refractive index(nD)
|
1.409 (20 °C) |