Hexadecahydrate

Hexadecahydrate refers to a chemical compound that contains sixteen molecules of water per unit formula of the compound. This type of hydration is also known as hexadecasolvation.

In chemistry, hexadecahydrate is often used to describe the solvated forms of certain metal ions, particularly those in the +2 oxidation state, such as copper(II) and mercury(II). These ions can form complexes with water molecules, resulting in the formation of a hexadecahydrate.

One of the notable examples of a hexadecahydrate is copper(II) sulfate hexadecahydrate, which has the chemical formula CuSO4·16H2O. This compound is blue in color and crystalline in appearance. When heated, it releases water molecules as steam.

Additionally, hexadecahydrates can also be prepared in the laboratory by dissolving a salt in a large quantity of water and then crystallizing the resulting solution.

The study of hexadecahydrates has implications for various fields such as materials science and chemistry. Researchers are interested in understanding the properties of these compounds, particularly their solubility, conductivity, and reactivity.

It's worth noting that the prefix "hexadeca-" comes from the Greek word "hex" meaning six and "deca" meaning ten. This nomenclature reflects the presence of 16 water molecules per unit formula.

Information about hexadecahydrate is available in various publication and research papers on academic databases, including ScienceDirect, JSTOR, and Web of Science.