Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments

178 DIY Science: Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments

PRTII: A
1.f you have not already done so, put on your splash I
goggles, gloves, and protective clothing.

2. Transfer as much as possible of the dried copper(II)
   hydroxide from the filter paper to a clean 150 mL
   beaker.


3. Transfer approximately 70 mL of 6 M aqueous
   ammonia to the beaker, and stir until all of the
   copper(II) hydroxide has reacted with the ammonia
   to form tetraamminecopper dihydroxide (Schweizer’s
   Reagent). If all of the copper(II) hydroxide does not
   react, add a bit more aqueous ammonia and stir until
   no copper(II) hydroxide remains on the bottom of
   the beaker (Schweizer’s Reagent, Figure 9-6).


4. Transfer the Schweizer’s Reagent to a storage
   bottle. Label the bottle with its contents and date it.
   (If you prefer, you can evaporate the solution to
   dryness and store the tetraamminecopper dihydroxide
   as crystals.)

dISpoSAL: The sodium sulfate produced in part I

can be stored for later use, or can be disposed of with

household waste. If you did not complete part II, you can

store the copper hydroxide in an airtight container for

later use. (If exposed to air, the blue copper hydroxide is

gradually oxidized to black copper oxide.)

FIGURE 9-6: Schweizer’s Reagent, formed by reacting copper(II)

hydroxide with aqueous ammonia

RQEWEvI UESTIOnS

q 1 : What are the theoretical mole ratios of copper(II) hydroxide and sodium sulfate?

q: 2 If you react one mole of sodium hydroxide with excess copper(II) sulfate, how many moles of copper(II) hydroxide are produced?