Beryllium oxide can be prepared by calcining (roasting) beryllium carbonate, dehydrating beryllium hydroxide or igniting the metal:

BeCO3→ BeO + CO2

Be(OH)2 → BeO + H2O

2 Be + O2 → 2 BeO

Igniting beryllium in air gives a mixture of BeO and the nitride Be3N2.

Unlike oxides formed by the other group 2 (alkaline earth metals), beryllium oxide is amphoteric rather than basic.

Beryllium oxide formed at high temperatures (>800°C) is inert,

but dissolves easily in hot aqueous ammonium bifluoride (NH4HF2) or a hot solution of concentrated sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4).

BeO adopts the hexagonal wurtzite structure form.

Beryllium is a miracle metal, lighter than aluminum yet stiffer than steel, making it perfect for many military applications.

Since the end of the Cold War, decline in military demand for beryllium has led Brush and its customers to ramp up commercial applications of the metal.

Beryllium is also used in such varied manufactured goods as electronics, automobiles, telecommunications, x-ray machines, and dental fixtures.

Brush Wellman began researching beryllium in 1921, opened its first commercial facility to produce the metal in 1931 and continues to operate to this day. The primary consumer of beryllium -

it was the top consumer until a recent surge in commercial uses - has been the U.S. government, which first used the metal to build better atomic weapons. Workers were not told about the dangers of beryllium dust, nor were they aware that the government and industry knew of workers dying from on the job exposures.

Over 40 cases of chronic beryllium disease, including seven deaths, and about 500 cases of acute disease, including nearly a dozen deaths, had been reported in the US by September 1947. (Read the document)