OSMIUM
Osmium products, Osmium sponge, Osmium metal, OsO4, Osmium tetroxide in water, Osmium tetroxide in t-butanol, Potassium osmate
Osmium - the densest natural element
Osmium (Os) was discovered in 1803 by Smithson Tennant who named it owing to the pungent and distinctive smell of its volatile oxide, osmium (VIII) oxide or osmium tetroxide (OsO4). The element is one of the most mysterious of the periodic table, from the blue colour of the sponge, its high melting point of 2700 oC, its ability to form the +8 oxidation state, its ability to form a volatile oxide to its high density of 4.906 g cm-3. All of these properties give osmium a unique mysterious characteristic to chemists.
Here at Ceimig we have been working with osmium for over 5 years and have hence gained extensive experience in manufacturing a diverse range of Os compounds. We also ship these restricted products to major manufacturing sites across the world. Ceimig is one of only a few providers of Osmium and Osmium based compounds in the world.
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At Ceimig we not only sell osmium sponge but also manufacture a wide range of osmium compounds, the key products being described below:
Osmium tetroxide, OsO4
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The lemon yellow osmium tetroxide, OsO4, is used by our customers for applications such as; vapour exposure staining of organic tissue for electron microscopy examination, in protein X-ray crystallography as a diffraction medium, an additive for crystal glass and for catalytic osmylation of alkenes to form cis-dihydroxylated hydrocarbons as intermediates in pharmaceutical targets.
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Ceimig Ltd manufactures osmium tetroxide (osmium tetroxide, OsO4) from the highest quality osmium sponge to ensure a consistently high quality product. Our current production capabilities allow us to synthesis 0.7Kg batch sizes.
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Osmium tetroxide is currently available in three forms to suit your production and handling needs. For more information please see below:
1) Osmium tetroxide as crystal. (Product code 14008)
Ceimig Ltd can supply osmium tetroxide in a variety of quantities to suit your production needs and to help reduce your contact time with the material. We do all our glass sealing in house to provide sealed vials of osmium tetroxide ranging from 0.1g up to 50g.
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2) Osmium tetroxide in water. (Product code 14015)
We manufacture de-ionised water solutions of OsO4 at 2 wt% or 4 wt% but can be any value up to around 6 wt% on request. Smaller volumes are supplied in glass sealed ampoules of varying volumes from 1 mL to 25 mL, whilst larger volumes from 25 mL up to 25 L are supplied in bottles.
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Ceimig Ltd is one of only a few companies who have the capability to manufacture and ship multiple 25L volumes of 4 wt% osmium tetroxide around the world. Due to this, our material has been widely used in a number of industrial programmes for the manufacture of diabetes control and heart beta-blocker pharmaceuticals.
3) Osmium tetroxide in tert-butanol. (product code 14036)
We also provide osmium tetroxide as a 2.5 wt% solution in stabilised tert-butanol. We currently manufacture batch sizes up to 2 Kg and ship worldwide for a diverse range of applications from biochemistry to stained glass.
Potassium Osmate, K2[OsO4(OH)2] (product code 14007)
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Owing to the low solubility of osmium tetroxide in water (around 6 wt%) it is sometimes more convenient to generate osmium tetroxide in situ. This is achieved by using potassium Osmate, K2[OsO4(OH)2]. Potassium Osmate is a convenient material to give osmium (VIII) oxide in which the solvated anion undergoes an acid catalysed dehydration to form OsO4 in situ.