Properties
Almost all inorganic nitrate salts are soluble in water at standard temperature and pressure. A common example of an inorganic nitrate salt is potassium nitrate (saltpeter).
In organic chemistry a nitrate (not to be confused with Nitro or Nitrite) is a relatively rare functional group with general chemical formula RONO2 where R stands for any organic residue. They are the esters of nitric acid and alcohols formed by nitroxylation. Examples are methyl nitrate formed by reaction of methanol and nitric acid, the nitrate of tartaric acid, and the inaccurately named nitroglycerin (which is actually an organic nitrate compound, not a nitro compound).
Like organic nitro compounds (see below) both organic and inorganic nitrates can be used as propellants and explosives. In these uses, the thermal decomposition of the nitrate yields molecular nitrogen N2 gas plus considerable chemical energy, due to the high strength of the bond in molecular nitrogen. Especially in inorganic nitrate reactions, oxidation from the nitrate oxygens is also an important energy-releasing process.
Read more about this topic: Nitrate
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