ZnCO

ZnCO is not a standard, well-defined chemical compound in common inorganic chemistry. In many sources the formula may appear only as a fragment or as a shorthand within larger species, and there is no widely isolated, stable binary solid with the exact composition ZnCO. The closest well-characterized material with a similar formula is zinc carbonate, ZnCO3, rather than a simple ZnCO compound.

The best-known zinc-containing species with a related formula is zinc carbonate (ZnCO3). ZnCO3 occurs naturally as the mineral smithsonite and is a carbonate mineral that forms in oxidized zones of zinc-bearing ore deposits. It adopts a trigonal crystal structure with carbonate groups (CO3)2− coordinated to zinc ions. Zinc carbonate is sparingly soluble in water and begins to decompose upon heating to zinc oxide (ZnO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Historically, it has been mined as a primary source of zinc and is also used as a pigment and filler in various industries; it plays a role in ceramics, glass, and as a zinc supplement in some formulations.

In gas-phase and organometallic contexts, transient zinc carbonyl species can be observed under specialized conditions, but there is no broadly available or stable compound of the formula ZnCO that is used or studied in routine chemistry. Zinc carbonyls, when produced, tend to be unstable and are primarily of academic interest in studies of metal–carbon monoxide interactions and carbonylation chemistry.

See also zinc carbonate, zinc oxide, and zinc salts related to carbonate chemistry.