Copper(II) carbonate or cupric carbonate is a chemical compound with formula CuCO3. At ambient temperatures, it is an ionic solid (a salt) consisting of copper(II) cations Cu2+and carbonate anions CO32− .
Reliable synthesis of true copper(II) carbonate was reported for the first time in 1973 by Hartmut Ehrhardt and others. The compound was obtained as a gray powder, by heating basic copper carbonate in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide (produced by the decomposition of silver oxalate Ag2C2O4) at 500 °C and 2 GPa (20,000 atm). The compound was determined to have a monoclinic structure.
Copper(I) carbonate is known as cuprous carbonate since copper’s
ion is +1; copper(II) carbonate (Cu2+ + CO3
2- → CuCO3) is known as cupric carbonate, which
is also known as the green copper mineral malachite, used in pigments, as an insecticide, as a
cosmetic astringent, and as a plant fungicide to prevent smut.
