Sciencemadness Discussion Board

making reducting agent

plante1999 - 22-4-2011 at 14:32

i want a huge variety of reducting agent and i have only aluminium shot(1/4 inch diam.) , zinc strip(1/4by2inch) and sodium metabisulfite but i want to know ow to make some other.

thanks!

[Edited on 22-4-2011 by plante1999]

[Edited on 23-4-2011 by plante1999]

redox - 22-4-2011 at 15:51

Sodium dithionite is a reductant in solution. If you can convert metabisulfite to bisulfate (there is probably some process), then you can react the sodium bisulfate with zinc by the following reaction:

2 NaHSO3 + Zn → Na2S2O4 + Zn(OH)2

I am not sure of the specifics, conditions, etc. of this reaction.

ScienceSquirrel - 22-4-2011 at 16:01

Steel wool in combination with hydrochloric, sulphuric or acetic acid in aqueous or alcoholic solution is readily available, pretty useful and cheap.
Sodium dithionite is readily available and is quite useful.
Formic acid is quite readily available and will act as a hydrogen donor under a variety of conditions.
Hydrazine is quite easily prepared and is of wide utility as a reducing agent.
Sadly sodium borohydride or lithium aluminium hydride is only available with difficulty to the home chemist.

Oops, I meant dithionite not dithionate

[Edited on 23-4-2011 by ScienceSquirrel]

entropy51 - 22-4-2011 at 17:23

Quote: Originally posted by plante1999  
i want a huge variety of reducting agent and i have only aluminium shot(1/4 inch diam.) , zinc strip(1/4by2inch) and sodium metabisulfite but i want to know ow to make some other.
Aluminum isopropoxide is rather easy to prepare and is useful in the Meerwein-Pondorff-Verley reduction. In addition to Al you need only dry OTC isopropanol (purchased as Iso-HEET or prepared as described in other threads) and a little mercuric chloride.

Random - 23-4-2011 at 01:12

Quote: Originally posted by redox  
Sodium dithionite is a reductant in solution. If you can convert metabisulfite to bisulfate (there is probably some process), then you can react the sodium bisulfate with zinc by the following reaction:

2 NaHSO3 + Zn → Na2S2O4 + Zn(OH)2

I am not sure of the specifics, conditions, etc. of this reaction.


Actually, metabisulfite is converted in aqueous solution to bisulfite which is HSO3- ion. So you need just to dissolve metabisulfite in water.

By the way, can Iron/HCl or sodium dithionite reduce ketones/aldehydes/carboxylic acids to alcohols or is it going up to alkanes?

blogfast25 - 23-4-2011 at 02:25

Fe2+ and Sn2+ are both fairly weak reducing agents.

Magnesium powder.

Bismuth (III) nitrate.

H2O2 in alkaline conditions (with strong oxidisers).

Oxalic acid (with permanganate).

plante1999 - 23-4-2011 at 04:06

here a list of some that i have:

25g Al shot, reagent grade
10g zinc strip, battery grade....(zinc casing)
20g sodium metabisulfite, reagent grade
arround 5% hydrazine sol. , made from Urea,NaOH and 6% NaOCl,... i think there is no grade for this very inpure mix... , i will distill the sol in 1-2 day.
20g oxalic acid reagent grade
H2O2 3% , USP grade

some that i will made

sodium Sodium dithionite , sodium metabisulfite + zinc strip
iron II chloride
magnesium powder,if i get the 25pound mg cover of my fater lawn mower....i already use 1-2g of it..........

thanks again , but i want to know how to make other!



[Edited on 23-4-2011 by plante1999]

[Edited on 23-4-2011 by plante1999]

plante1999 - 23-4-2011 at 15:35

edit ive made some test and it saim that my 5% hydrazine sol can reduce iron and copper oxide to the metal... Hydrazine saim to be a potent reducing agent.

does anyone know ow to make other reducting agent?