Editing Barium hydroxide (section)

==Uses==
Industrially, barium hydroxide is used as the precursor to other barium compounds.  The monohydrate is used to dehydrate and remove sulfate from various products.<ref name=Ullmann>Robert Kresse, Ulrich Baudis, Paul Jäger, H. Hermann Riechers, Heinz Wagner, Jochen Winkler, Hans Uwe Wolf, "Barium and Barium Compounds" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2007 Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. {{doi|10.1002/14356007.a03_325.pub2}}</ref>  This application exploits the very low solubility of [[barium sulfate]].  This industrial application is also applied to laboratory uses.

===Laboratory uses===
Barium hydroxide is used in [[analytical chemistry]] for the [[titration]] of [[weak acid]]s, particularly [[organic acid]]s. Its aqueous solution, if clear, is guaranteed to be free of carbonate, unlike those of [[sodium hydroxide]] and [[potassium hydroxide]], as [[barium carbonate]] is insoluble in water. This allows the use of indicators such as [[phenolphthalein]] or [[thymolphthalein]] (with alkaline colour changes) without the risk of titration errors due to the presence of [[carbonate]] ions, which are much less basic.<ref>{{VogelQuantitative}}</ref>

Barium hydroxide is occasionally used in [[organic synthesis]] as a strong base, for example for the hydrolysis of esters<ref>Meyer, K.; Bloch, H. S. (1945). "[http://www.orgsyn.org/orgsyn/prep.asp?prep=cv3p0637 Naphthoresorcinol]". ''[[Org. Synth.]]'' '''25''': 73; ''Coll. Vol.'' '''3''': 637.</ref> and nitriles,<ref>Brown, G. B. (1946). "[http://www.orgsyn.org/orgsyn/prep.asp?prep=cv3p0615 Methylsuccinic acid]". ''[[Org. Synth.]]'' '''26''': 54; ''Coll. Vol.'' '''3''': 615.</ref><ref>Ford, Jared H. (1947). "[http://www.orgsyn.org/orgsyn/prep.asp?prep=cv3p0034 β-Alanine]". ''[[Org. Synth.]]'' '''27''': 1; ''Coll. Vol.'' '''3''': 34.</ref><ref>Anslow, W. K.; King, H.; Orten, J. M.; Hill, R. M. (1925). "[http://www.orgsyn.org/orgsyn/prep.asp?prep=cv1p0298 Glycine]". ''[[Org. Synth.]]'' '''4''': 31; ''Coll. Vol.'' '''1''': 298.</ref> and as a base in [[aldol condensation]]s.

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:[[File:Barium hydroxide-catalyzed methylsuccinic acid preparation.svg|346px|class=skin-invert]]

There are several uses for barium hydroxide such as to hydrolyse one of the two equivalent ester groups in dimethyl hendecanedioate.<ref>Durham, L. J.; McLeod, D. J.; Cason, J. (1958). "[http://www.orgsyn.org/orgsyn/prep.asp?prep=cv4p0635 Methyl hydrogen hendecanedioate]". ''[[Org. Synth.]]'' '''38''':55; ''Coll. Vol.'' '''4''':635.</ref>

Barium hydroxide has also been used in the decarboxylation of amino acids liberating barium carbonate in the process.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S4nrnTkBph0C|title = Biochemistry and Clinical Pathology|isbn = 9788185790169|last1 = Chaudhari|first1 = M. R.|last2 = Kulkarni|first2 = Y. A.|last3 = Gokhale|first3 = S. B.|date = 6 October 2008| publisher=Pragati Books Pvt. }}</ref>

It is also used in the preparation of [[cyclopentanone]],<ref>Thorpe, J. F.; Kon, G. A. R. (1925). "[http://www.orgsyn.org/orgsyn/prep.asp?prep=cv1p0192 Cyclopentanone]". ''[[Org. Synth.]]'' '''5''': 37; ''Coll. Vol.'' '''1''': 192.</ref> [[diacetone alcohol]]<ref>Conant, J. B.; Tuttle, Niel. (1921). "[http://www.orgsyn.org/orgsyn/prep.asp?prep=cv1p0199 Diacetone alcohol]". ''[[Org. Synth.]]'' '''1''': 45; ''Coll. Vol.'' '''1''': 199.</ref> and [[Gulonic acid|<small>D</small>-gulonic γ-lactone]].<ref>Karabinos, J. V. (1956). "[http://www.orgsyn.org/orgsyn/prep.asp?prep=cv4p0506D-Gulonic γ-lactone]". ''[[Org. Synth.]]'' '''36''': 38; ''Coll. Vol.'' '''4''': 506.</ref>

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