Ammonium Calcium Nitrate

Formula: 5Ca(NO₃)₂·NH₄NO₃·10H₂O

Properties

• Crystal system: No information. Shape suggests hexagonal, but it can be caused by twining.
• Crystal shape: Apparently, flattened hexagonal bipyramid.
• Stability on air: Not stable, deliquescent. Quickly absorbs moisture from air, becoming liquid.

Preparation

Dissolve calcium nitrate (sometimes salt as fertilizer, in the form of hydrate Ca(NO₃)·4H₂O), and ammonium nitrate NH₄NO₃ (also fertilizer) in 5:1 molar ratio in minimal amount of hot water, then crystallize.

Growing

Left on open air, solution of this compound will not evaporate.

I used home-made dessicator for growing: big capped plastic container with 50g of anhydrous CuSO₄ on the bottom.

Safety

Moderately toxic, as all nitrates.

More photos

References

• Imgur gallery