Magnesium Chloride

Magnesium Chloride Description

Also known as chloromagnestite, magnesium chloride is a colorless crystalline solid. It is very hygroscopic in nature. It is soluble in water and alcohol. It can be prepared by heating hydrated magnesium chloride crystals in a current of dry hydrogen chloride or by heating magnesium ammonium chloride. Anhydrous magnesium chloride crystallizes from magnesium chloride hexahydrate as leaflets. It is electrically conductive. The crystal structure of MgCl2 is layer like. The structure is cubic close packing with alternate layers of octahedral holes occupied by Mg2+ ions.

Pure magnesium chloride is widely used to produce dialysis solutions for diabetics patients. The development of the polymers industry with more and more sophisticated plastics is in close connection with the development of advanced catalysts. Anhydrous magnesium is well adapted as support for Ziegler-Natta catalysts to produce an array of very pure products. Magnesium chloride is also commonly used in industry as a dehumidifier or dust stabilizer. MgCl2 is also broadly used as an anti- or de-icer to prevent the formation or remove ice from roadways.

Magnesium chloride is widely used as a source of magnesium ion. In biological systems, magnesium is a co-foactor for many enzymes including deoxyribonuclease (DNase) and various restriction enzymes. MgCl2 also plays a role in cell membrane integrity, muscle cell physiology, and nucleic acid structure. Magnesium chloride solution is a favorable choice as an elution buffer for antibody affinity column purifications; it is much milder on most antigens than acid elution, allowing reuse of the antigen column. MgCl2 is also an essential co-factor for the DNA polymerase in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification.

Magnesium Chloride Applications and Related Industries

● Medical

● Fine Chemistry

● Industrial

● Chemical Manufacturing

● Research & Laboratory

Chemical Identifiers

Magnesium Chloride Properties (Theoretical)