making copper sulfate

[folder]

I have used something similar to dissolve copper in HCl. HCl + H2O2 + scrap copper. Works well, makes a blue-green solution and dissolves the copper.

[reverse]

Greetings, I’m new here.

Stumbled upon this site by chance while trying to figure out what was going on in my electroplating experiment today.

 

I just used household stuff,

a car battery charger and a copper pipe , and the item to be plated was made from brass.

 

I threw some salt and vinegar into the water to get it going.

 

Initially it worked great, I got copper coatings within seconds.

 

Tomorrow I’m going to do a polarity change to see the effect.

 

The bubbles of gas, hydrogen I think, seem to come off the item connected to the positive (anode) terminal.

Can you use those bubbles to figure out which way the copper is going, away from the bubbles or toward them?

 

Ps this expt is right down at the Galvani and his frogs legs level.

 

Thanks R.E.

[Cesium]

I made myself some cupric sulfate today using copper wires, Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate), a milk carton, 9 volt battery, and a cotton membrane. After about an hour the solution had a definite blue tint. I believe CuO is forming at the anode, and an gelly insoluble product presumably Mg(OH)2 is forming at the cathode. I plan to leave the cell on overnight, but I have run into one problem. How can I extract the CuSO4 from the excess MgSO4?

[YT2095]

with a syringe and fractional crystalisation.

 

although your method of production is a very poor one indeed, it`s just about possible to get a few mg of CuSO4 crystals from it.

[akcapr]

i would like to make some copper sulphate. But i am having difficulty figuring out how. If there isnt a fairly cheap way to do it using store bought chems, then i was thinking about somehow making copper (II) oxide and then reacting it with sulfuric acid. But the difficult is getting the copper oxide. Maybe decomposing copper carbonate? we'll you see my problem. Any possible synthesis's will be appreciated.

[akcapr]

also will putting copper in hot sulfuric acid produce any?

[raivo]

No, copper in sulfuric acid will produce as much sulfate as it has oxide layer on it.

 

I do not see reason why copper carbonate should not react with sulfuric acid. Another way is to electrolyse sulfuric acid solution with copper anode. Third way is to buy copper sulfate as fertiliser.

[YT2095]

akcapr,

 

Please learn to use the Search facility on SFN before posting! there are Plenty of threads on Copper Sulphate.

 

I`ve merged your thread with this one, I suggest you read all the posts in it, it addresses any question(s) you`re likely to have.

[ed84c]

I would simply suggest buying some, its like one of the cheapest chemicals to buy out there, its safe so its easy to get hold of, maybe eBay?

[akcapr]

sorrrrry... i just realized how large of a database you guys have

[Wookiee]

I have a question about electroplating copper.

 

I am making some Copper Sulfate now by means of copper electrodes and sulfuric acid. My question is... What is the "brown stuff" that forms on the cathode. Now I understand that the cathode will be plated with copper but what is the copper that looks like a copper dust. Is it just that, copper dust? Or is it an oxidizied form of copper? Copper hydroxide or something odd like that? Does it do harm to the electroplating process?

 

Also what can be done with this.. as it looks really cool. Could it possibly be used in a thermite reaction?

 

Any help would be great.

 

-Randy

[YT2095]

it is indeed copper "dust", if you can take it all out and then heat it until it goes black (Forming CuO) and add it back to the sulphuric acid again, it will make more copper sulphate faster than just electrolysis.

you could use the CuO in a thermit reaction but it`s quite a violent reaction and I wouldn`t recommend it.

[Fuzzwood]

Im not sure but isnt 18V a bit overkill? I guess you would get better results by shunting the batteries in parallel mode to get a higher Amperage.

[insane_alien]

but for a higher amperage you also need a higher voltage.

 

I=V/R

[YT2095]

agreed but if the Overall current density is too high, all you succeed in doing is heating the electrolyte and wasting energy.

a fixed resistance will only take so much power before it wastes it as heat, and 18V is a little High for CuSO4 (although I`d like to know where this 18V thing came from in the 1`st place?).

[Wookiee]

Thanks for the last response...

 

Well still keep it fairly pure. Hm... I'll have to think apon that one.I know its not copper oxide because it does not react or disolve in sulfuric acid. It does conduct electricity. so far..drying(the edges atleast, the main "lump hasn't dried) it turns a blue color. Is that the color of Copper Hyroxide? If it was copper hydroxide shouldn't it react with sulfuric acid to create H20 and CuSO4? So I'm pretty sure its not Copper hydroxide or Copper Oxide. It must be just plain copper. But how can I completely determine that? I'm thinking about trying to put this stuff in a cup. Then trying to use it to plate stuff using it as the anode. I dont really have any good lab equipment so I can't really burn it and

 

Also I'm using a battery charger. So I'm using about 14.5v. What should the current density be for an electroplating experiment for BEST results, not necessarily the fastest.

 

Thank you,

-Randy

[Wookiee]

so I do think it is Copper. It is really really fine. It acts very much like mud, but it just doesn't disolve in the water. It'll clump together. etc etc.

 

So pretty much it is pretty cool just because of how fine it must be. If it were put in a ball mill just to break up the clumps it would be ULTRA FINE. I wouldn't have a clue though as to its mesh size.

 

Not quite sure what I'm doing to do with it though. I'll probably end up trying to reuse it as an Anode to electroplate to the cathode on what ever I want.

 

-Randy

[dom3mo]

To make copper sulfate just copper(II)chloride in sulphuric acid.

[Melvin]

I think H2SO4 + CuO would be better. You can heat copper in air to get CuO. Also, you wouldn't have to deal with HCl coming off (of course, unless you wanted to make HCl).

 

I think it's easier to just buy CuSO4. It's not really that expensive.

[sfoster]

How much. Is there a certain amount of sulfuric acid vs. surface area of copper, as well as how much current to run through it, or does it make a difference. I'm trying about a cup of Sulfuric Acid with some 14gauge copper wire and running 10 amps through it. Will this suffice? How long should I leave it connected? Just curious. I'm testing it now, so I'll post results.

 

Well I dissolved about three inches in less than an hour at 10 amps however my solution is purple rather than the mentioned blue. Is there something wrong with what I did?

 

I just started dissolving more. This time the + is about 2 feet of coiled copper wire and just a 2-3 inch -. Any tips or suggestions???

[Human oxide]

hi, i have been keeping track of this thread and i have a few questions.

1. does CuO + H2SO4 = CuSO4 + H2O?

2. would replacing the copper with iron (rust) work?

3. Electrolysis of sulfuric acid with iron or copper electrodes produce the corresponding sulfates?

[YT2095]

Yes, Yes and Yes

 

although Iron as the metal will work better.

[Human oxide]

thanks YT :]

 

what would be easier to make and plate with copper sulfate or copper chloride?

 

is there a way to get copper sulfate by electrolyzing sulfuric acid with copper electrodes WITHOUT plating the copper to the cathode? (or would just throwing copper into a sulfuric solution, and letting it dissolve, be faster?)

 

the reason CuO works better than Fe2O3 is because of the extra metal or extra oxygen?

[YT2095]

from experience I`v found a dilute soln of the sulphate to be a much better electrolyte for plating, and no, you can`t really avoid some of it being plated out at the cathode, but that`s not really a bad thing either as the metal often comes out very spongy and easy to remove and re-add into the acid.

making it this way you`ll find it beneficial to leave the copper electrodes and spongy copper mass in the acid for a week or so without electricity.

 

as for the oxides of iron and copper, I`m not sure why it`s the case, but again, from practical experience the CuO seems to much more reactive than the Fe2O3 in warm sulphuric.

[Human oxide]

would using electrolysis for making copper sulfate be worth the work?

 

i, personally ,think that putting copper oxide in sulfuric acid would be easier. any suggestions or remarks?