Fibonacci13 Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 I passed a current through a solution of water and Epsom salt using a copper wire as an anode and a paper clip as a cathode. This produced a blue precipitate, which I filtered out. Can anyone tell me what this blue substance is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypervalent_iodine Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 Sounds to me like copper sulfate, though I could be entirely wrong on this as I am by no means an expert in this area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enthalpy Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Cu++ has a nice blue colour like in azurite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azurite precipitates I saw have this colour but not as dark and intense. Cu+ is green like in malachite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malachite Electrolyse salts but not dissolve the electrodes is difficult. Apart from gold, platinum and a few more... you can use graphite, which makes the central electrode of a banal zinc battery (the non-alkaline 1.5V elements). When opening an element, beware the liquid chemicals in it: protect your eyes, have water at hand. Better avoid it with an alkaline battery, it contains KOH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now