copper chloride problem

[jordehwa]

I made some copper chloride out of pure copper wire and HCL and H2O2.

 

the solution dissolved all the copper and turned dark green, so then i wanted to get rid of all the hcl that was left so i boild it till it was dry then i rehydrated it with water so i could do recrystalization to get a cleaner product.

 

But when it evaporated there were no crystals just a real dark green thick syrupy liquid, did i do something wrong?

 

Thanks.

[John Cuthber]

Copper chloride is rather hygroscopic. Try leaving the green goo in a shallow dish (not a metal one) in a warm place and see if it dries out.

[jordehwa]

ok thanks how about a warm oven? or is it too toxic? because its the same oven i cook in.

 

also it seems like alot of chloride salts are hygroscopic why is this?

[John Cuthber]

I'd not use an oven for a couple of reasons- if the stuff gets hot it will spit, and CuCl2 is rather corrosive (as well as a bit toxic)

Also, the reaction CuCl2 + H2O --> Cu(OH)Cl +H2O will tend to take place if you heat the stuff. You lose some of your product that way and what's left is less pure.

 

The Cu(OH)Cl is a representation of a so called basic salt.

[jordehwa]

ok thanks:-)

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i also have a question about iron II chloride. I have a rusty iron rail road spike so i put in some hydrochloric acid and the solution is a yellow color can i evaporate this on a hotplate outside to get anhydrous ironII chloride?

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by the way i already heated some in a hotplate and the dry powder is dark redish brown.

Edited April 19, 2010 by jordehwa
Consecutive posts merged.

[John Cuthber]

Iron tends to oxidise to Fe(III) in air and FeCl3 solutions lose some HCl on evaporating.

[jordehwa]

ok thanks

[Arthur Dent]

I wonder if the dessication method would work with the OP's green goo?

 

What if the syrupy CuCl2 in a becher was sealed-up in a ziploc bag with a becher of anhydrous Sodium Hydroxide, or even better, a couple of those small "dessicant" bags found in electronic gear boxes? Or is the CuCl2 much more hygroscopic and it would do the reverse process?

- Robert

[John Cuthber]

I'd use CaCl2 to see if it worked as a desiccant. NaOH would probably increase the loss of HCl.

The little bags are generally full of silica gel, but the gel is usually pretty near saturated with water by the time you actually buy the stuff unless the packaging was unusually well sealed.

[sherif]

u can make crystalation by dissolve cucl2 in solvent ( it is little solubility in solvent but is increased by using heat ) . u heat solution to disoslve & leave it to make crystale.

[Arthur Dent]

@ John Cuthber:

When you mentioned CaCl2, I remember a long time ago that I use some of these inexpensive "Damp Trap" boxes in my basement a few years ago. The only ingredient in there is anhydrous Calcium chloride sealed in a plastix box. Once you open the seal, it does a pretty good job at removing moisture.

 

I went to the dollar store and grabbed a few of those boxes to experiment with. Below is a "damp-trap" sealed in a ziploc bag with a few ml of Zinc Chloride solution...

 

 

i'll let 'em fight it out for a few days and we'll see who wins! And I guess that I can also recycle the CaCl2 when it's wet by heating it up a bit. I'll keep you posted if it works. I'll aslo try it on my solution of CuSO4 to see how fast it works.

 

Robert

 

Robert

[jordehwa]

Thanks thats cool

 

Don't they also sell CaCl2 hydrate in them big bags of salt for deicing your driveway, if so you could just heat it to anhydrous and then use that as a dessicator , that way you get a Whole bunch for cheap. Right?