text: Cobalt(II) chloride is an inorganic compound, a salt of cobalt and chlorine, with the formula . The compound forms several hydrates ·n, for n = 1, 2, 6, and 9. Claims of the formation of tri- and tetrahydrates have not been confirmed. The anhydrous form is a blue crystalline solid; the dihydrate is purple and the hexahydrate is pink. Commercial samples are usually the hexahydrate, which is one of the most commonly used cobalt salts in the lab.