Rubidium chloride

White, crystalline powder; lustrous. When heated it decrepi- tates, melts, and volatizes. Soluble in water; almost insoluble in alcohols.
Rubidium chloride is an inorganic chloride composed of rubidium and chloride ions in a 1:1 ratio. It has a role as an antidepressant and a biomarker. It is a rubidium molecular entity and an inorganic chloride.
Rubidium chloride (7791-11-9) is a kind of alkali metal halide consisting of rubidium and chlorine. It has applications in various kinds of fields. It can be used as a gasoline additive and an excellent non-invasive biomarker. For example, it can be used as a radioactive isotope to trace many kinds of biological processes such as measuring the coronary collateral blood flow. It can also be used for the preparation of competent cells in molecular cloning. In addition, it is a kind of antidepressant which is capable of increasing the dopamine and norepinephrine levels. The effect is also related with the stimulation of rubidium chloride on the generation of nitric oxide.
Rubidium chloride is an alkali metal halide, chemical formula RbCl, white crystalline powder; lustrous. When heated it decrepitates, melts, and volatizes. soluble in water, slightly soluble in alcohol. In the gaseous state, RbCl is a diatomic molecule with a bond length of about 2.7868A. The bond length increases to 3.285A in the cubic system, showing a high ionic coordination number in the solid state.Rubidium chlorides is a source of rubidium metal. Rubidium is usually prepared by the thermal reduction of rubidium chloride.When rubidium chloride and calcium are heated together in stoichiometric proportions at 900-1000°C under a pressure of about 0.02 torr, rubidium distills over.
Crystallise it from water (0.7mL/g) by cooling to 0o from 100o. Its solubility in H2O is 77.3% at 0.6o, 90.3% at 70o and 147% at boiling point. [D.nges in Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry (Ed. Brauer) Academic Press Vol I p 951-955 1963.]