Zinc oxide is an inorganic compound with the formula ZnO. It is a white powder that is insoluble in water. This medication is used to treat and prevent diaper rash and other minor skin irritations (e.g., burns, cuts, scrapes). It works by forming a barrier on the skin to protect it from irritants/moisture.The powder is widely used as an additive into numerous materials and products including plastics, ceramics, glass, cement, rubber (e.g., car tires), lubricants, paints, ointments, adhesives, sealants, pigments, foods (source of Zn nutrient), batteries, ferrites, fire retardants, first aid tapes, etc.
ZnO is present in the Earth's crust as the mineral zincite, however, most ZnO used commercially is synthetic. Badger’s sunscreens have become extremely popular in the past few years, largely because our only active ingredient is the mineral zinc oxide. Starting in March of 2011 all Badger sunscreens use only uncoated non-nano sized particles of zinc oxide (the same kind found in calamine lotion and diaper rash cream). ZnO occurs as white powder known as zinc white or as the mineral zincite. The mineral usually contains a certain amount of manganese and other elements that confer yellow to red color.
Crystalline zinc oxide is thermochromic, changing from white to yellow when heated and in air reverting to white on cooling. Follow all directions on the product package or use as directed by your doctor. This color change is caused by a very small loss of oxygen at high temperatures to form the non-stoichiometric Zn1+xO, where at 800 °C , x = 0.00007.
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