Calcium chromate
A bright yellow, highly toxic pigment and industrial chemical
No single value: Calcium chromate is a material, and its colour varies. The background shows its family, yellow.
Calcium chromate is a vivid yellow inorganic compound, mainly found as a dihydrate solid. It is sometimes used as a pigment and corrosion inhibitor, but its use is limited due to its toxicity and carcinogenic properties from hexavalent chromium. The compound is also an oxidiser and poses fire and health hazards.
- Bright yellow solid, usually as a dihydrate
- Very toxic and carcinogenic due to chromium(VI)
- Used as pigment and corrosion inhibitor
- Rare in nature as chromitite mineral
- Acts as a strong oxidiser and fire hazard
What colour is Calcium chromate?
Calcium chromate is a bright yellow solid, most often found as a dihydrate. Its colour stands out for its intensity and clarity among yellow pigments. While it can occur naturally as the rare mineral chromitite, it is usually made in the laboratory. Its strong colour and chemical reactivity set it apart from other yellow compounds.
Where does Calcium chromate come from?
The name 'calcium chromate' comes from its chemical composition: it is the chromate salt of calcium. The mineral form, chromitite, is very rare in nature. Most calcium chromate is produced synthetically for industrial use.
How is Calcium chromate made?
Calcium chromate is made by reacting sodium chromate with calcium chloride, producing the compound and sodium chloride as a byproduct. In water, it forms a dihydrate, which can be heated to remove water and yield the anhydrous form. The process uses common industrial chemicals.
Where Calcium chromate is used
This compound has been used as a yellow pigment and as a corrosion inhibitor in metal coatings. It is also found in chromium electroplating, photochemical processing, and industrial waste treatment. However, its use is limited because it is highly toxic and carcinogenic, and can cause permanent damage if mishandled.
Yellow around the world
What the yellow family means from country to country.
The yellow disc of the Aboriginal flag is the sun, giver of life. The flag was designed by the Luritja artist Harold Thomas and first flown in Adelaide in 1971.
Sacred and holySource: Australian Aboriginal flagAt the gaye holud, held a day or two before a wedding, relatives rub turmeric paste on the bride and groom. Guests dress in yellow and orange.
Weddings and marriageFestival and celebrationJoySource: Gaye holudOn Pohela Falgun, the first day of spring, young women wear yellow and orange saris, a shade called basanti, with flowers in their hair.
Festival and celebrationNature and renewalJoySource: Pohela FalgunThe Flemish flag is a black lion on yellow, and the Walloon flag a red cockerel on yellow. The language communities are often shown by these colours.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of FlandersThe flag is yellow, the colour of the Sultan. By custom, ordinary people did not wear yellow in the ruler's presence.
Royalty and powerPrideSource: Flag of BruneiThe national football team plays in a yellow shirt with green trim, the canarinho. It was chosen in a newspaper contest after the 1950 World Cup final was lost in white.
Festival and celebrationPrideJoySource: Brazil national football teamShades and relatives of Calcium chromate
The main variation is between the dihydrate and anhydrous forms, with the dihydrate being more common. Its mineral form, chromitite, is very rare. Calcium chromate is sometimes confused with other yellow chromate pigments, but its toxicity and reactivity are notable.
Questions people ask about Calcium chromate
What colour is calcium chromate?
Calcium chromate is a bright yellow solid, most often found as a dihydrate form.
Where does the name calcium chromate come from?
The name comes from its chemical makeup: it is the chromate salt of calcium.
Is calcium chromate natural or synthetic?
It is mostly made synthetically, but a very rare natural mineral form called chromitite exists.
Why is calcium chromate not used widely as a pigment?
Its use is limited because it is highly toxic and carcinogenic, making it dangerous to handle.
What is calcium chromate used for?
It has been used as a yellow pigment, a corrosion inhibitor, and in industrial processes like electroplating.
Good reading and sources
- Calcium chromate on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More pictures on Wikimedia CommonsPictures
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Calcium chromate", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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