White powder or crystal; trigonal or hexagonal crystal system; density 4.79 g/cm3; decomposes slowly at 130°C; dehydration completes at 300°C; insoluble in water (2.6 mg/L at 20°C); soluble in dilute acids.
In storage battery electrodes.
Cadmium hydroxide is used to prepare negative electrodes for cadmium-nickel batteries. It is a useful in biochemical for proteomics research. It may be used in cadmium plating and cadmium salt.
Cadmium hydroxide may be precipitated by adding any cadmium salt solution to a boiling solution of caustic soda or caustic potash:
CdCl2 + 2NaOH → Cd(OH)2 + 2NaCl.
