Caesium nitrate

Caesium nitrate or cesium nitrate is a salt with the <a href="/facts/Chemical_formula/hghUtthl">chemical formula</a> <a href="/facts/Caesium/dXKN1S5k">Cs</a><a href="/facts/Nitrate/5AnVlYnL">NO3</a>. An <a href="/facts/Alkali_metal_nitrate/DneJQHRf">alkali metal nitrate</a>, it is used in <a href="/facts/Pyrotechnic_composition/C1HG3gVw">pyrotechnic compositions</a>, as a <a href="/facts/Pyrotechnic_colorant/18A14vUn">colorant</a> and an <a href="/facts/Oxidizer/1FQzB8pQ">oxidizer</a>, e.g. in <a href="/facts/Decoy_flare/hPILe66r">decoys</a> and <a href="/facts/Flare_(pyrotechnic)/LuXg6UXI">illumination flares</a>. The <a href="/facts/Caesium/dXKN1S5k">caesium</a> emissions are chiefly due to two powerful <a href="/facts/Spectral_line/HuI4Bj5f">spectral lines</a> at 852.113 nm and 894.347 nm.
Caesium nitrate prisms are used in <a href="/facts/Infrared_spectroscopy/u1Hzx617">infrared spectroscopy</a>, in <a href="/facts/X-ray/wseP79cN">x-ray</a> <a href="/facts/Phosphor/vTLjrGDE">phosphors</a>, and in <a href="/facts/Scintillation_counter/DFB1gpJv">scintillation counters</a>. It is also used in making optical glasses and lenses.
As with other alkali metal nitrates, caesium nitrate decomposes on gentle heating to give caesium nitrite:

2 CsNO3 → 2 CsNO2 + O2
Caesium also forms two unusual <a href="/facts/Acid_salt/zIfXtebL">acid nitrates</a>, which can be described as CsNO3·HNO3 and CsNO3·2HNO3 (melting points 100 °C and 36–38 °C respectively).

Caesium nitrate open-in-new

Caesium nitrate