Ammonium Hydroxide → Tricopper;dihydroxide;disulfate

Participants

Reaction Steps

Tribasic copper sulfate was prepared according to the procedure described in Example 4. Initially the reactor vessel contained 100 ml of an aqueous solution of ammonium sulfate (400 g/l). An aqueous, acidic solution of copper sulfate (40 g Cu/l, pH 1.0) was added to the reactor vessel at a flow rate of 5 ml/min. and admixed with an aqueous solution of ammonium hydroxide (13% NH3), which was added at a flow rate sufficient to maintain a reaction pH of about 5.0. The tribasic copper sulfate immediately precipitated from solution as a pale, blue-green solid. The solid was collected and dried to provide a 71.4% yield of tribasic copper sulfate. The tribasic copper sulfate had a water solubility of about 430 mg Cu per liter and a hydroscopicity when stored in 90% humidity for 140 hr. of about 1.73% weight gain verses a 14.4% weight gain for reagent grade copper sulfate pentahydrate.

Provenance & Evidence