| Ammonium formate | |
|---|---|
| Identifiers | |
| CAS number | 540-69-2 |
| PubChem | 2723923 |
| ChemSpider | 10442 |
| RTECS number | BQ6650000 |
| Jmol-3D images | Image 1 Image 2 |
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| Properties | |
| Molecular formula | NH4HCO2 |
| Molar mass | 63.0559 g/mol |
| Appearance | white monoclinic crystals deliquescent |
| Density | 1.280 g/cm3 |
| Melting point |
116 °C |
| Boiling point |
decomposes |
| Solubility in water | 102 g/100 mL (0 °C) 143 g/100 mL (20 °C) 531 g/100 mL (80 °C) |
| Solubility | soluble in liquid ammonia, alcohol and diethyl ether |
| Hazards | |
| MSDS | JT Baker MSDS |
| GHS pictograms | [1] |
| GHS hazard statements | H315, H319, H335[1] |
| GHS precautionary statements | P261, P305+351+338[1] |
| NFPA 704 |
1
2
0
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| LD50 | 2250 mg/kg, oral (mouse) |
| (verify) (what is: /?) Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C, 100 kPa) |
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| Infobox references | |
Ammonium formate, NH4HCO2, is the ammonium salt of formic acid. It is a colorless, hygroscopic, crystalline solid.
Pure ammonium formate decomposes into formamide and water when heated, and this is its primary use in industry. Formic acid can also be obtained by reacting ammonium formate with a dilute acid, and since ammonium formate is also produced from formic acid, it can serve as a way of storing formic acid.
Ammonium formate can also be used in palladium on carbon (Pd/C) reduction of functional groups. In the presence of Pd/C, ammonium formate decomposes to hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and ammonia. This hydrogen gas is absorbed onto the surface of the palladium metal, where it can react with various functional groups. For example, alkenes can be reduced to alkanes, or formaldehyde to methanol. Activated single bonds to heteroatoms can also be replaced by hydrogens (hydrogenolysis).
Ammonium formate can be used for reductive amination of aldehydes and ketones (Leuckart reaction)
Ammonium formate can be used as a buffer in high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and is suitable for use with liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). The pKa values of formic acid and the ammonium ion are 3.8 and 9.2, respectively.
When heated, ammonium formate eliminates water, forming formamide. Upon further heating it forms to HCN and H2O. A side reaction of this is the decomposition of formamide to CO and NH3.