Potassium Ethyl Xanthate

Brief Overview
Potassium ethyl xanthate (PEX) is an organosulphur compound that is pale yellow and has a pungent odour. It is non-hygroscopic and exists as anhydrous salt, and is relatively stable at high pH.

Manufacturing Process
Xanthate salts are prepared by the action of alcohols on carbon disulfide. The alkoxide is generated in situ from potassium hydroxide:

CH₃CH₂OH + CS₂ + KOH → CH₃CH₂OCS₂K + H₂O

Potassium ethyl xanthate is a pale yellow powder that is relatively stable at high pH but rapidly hydrolyses at pH <9 at 25 °C. Unlike the sodium derivative, potassium xanthate crystallizes as the anhydrous salt and is nonhygroscopic.

Chemical Industry
Potassium ethyl xanthate is used as a reagent for extraction of metal ions into organic solvents and in the preparation of 2-mercapto benzimidazoles and 2-mercapto benzoxazoles by reacting with o-phenylenediamines and o-amino phenols respectively.

Mineral Industry
It acts as a precursor in the production of unsymmetrical sulfides through cross-coupling reaction and as a floatation agent in the mining industry.

Rubber Industry
PEX is also used in accelerating vulcanization in rubber industry.

Others
It is used as a precipitating agent in wetting metallurgical industry. It is also involved in the determination of cadmium in water samples by substoichiometric radiochemical method and the adsorption of colloidal dye disperse Blue 3 onto pretreated polyester fabric.