Saltpeter

2D structure of saltpeter.

Potassium nitrate sample

Potassium nitrate, also known as saltpeter, is a chemical compound with the chemical formula KNO₃. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K⁺ and nitrate ions NO₃⁻, and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate. It is a source of nitrogen and it occurs in nature as a mineral, niter.

Uses

Major uses of potassium nitrate are in fertilizers, tree stump removal, rocket propellants and fireworks, and it is one of the major components of gunpowder.

Dependencies

• Potassium
• Nitrogen
• Oxygen
  • Potassium nitrate
    • Gunpowder

See also

• Fertilizer
• Chemical compounds

References

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Potassium_nitrate, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors).