Sciencemadness Discussion Board

schweizer's reagent

bigtrevs98 - 21-4-2015 at 10:46

So is there some kind of way to make schweizer's reagent from copper acetate, bleach, and ammonia. If so could someone explain to me how? If not? How else could I do it?

Milan - 21-4-2015 at 10:54

Shouldn't you just be able to turn copper acetate into copper hydroxide with a little ammonia.
Then filter it and rinse. After that just dissolve your copper hydroxide in ammonia to make the Schweizer's reagent.

Eddygp - 21-4-2015 at 12:15

It's everywhere on the Internet, anyway.
For some extra discussion:
What is the mechanism by which solutions of Schweizer's reagent dissolve cellulose?

[Edited on 21-4-2015 by Eddygp]

bigtrevs98 - 21-4-2015 at 12:37

Well why do I search for hours sometimes and come upcompletely empty handed. Like I'm trying to find ratios of copper acetate and 5% ammonia. To make copper hydroxide the ratio of copper hydroxide to ammonia. I find literally no helpful information on Google or anything

DraconicAcid - 21-4-2015 at 12:40

Quote: Originally posted by bigtrevs98  
Well why do I search for hours sometimes and come upcompletely empty handed. Like I'm trying to find ratios of copper acetate and 5% ammonia. To make copper hydroxide the ratio of copper hydroxide to ammonia. I find literally no helpful information on Google or anything


You want a 1:2 mole ratio of copper acetate to ammonia.

Amos - 21-4-2015 at 19:15

Quote: Originally posted by bigtrevs98  
Well why do I search for hours sometimes and come upcompletely empty handed. Like I'm trying to find ratios of copper acetate and 5% ammonia. To make copper hydroxide the ratio of copper hydroxide to ammonia. I find literally no helpful information on Google or anything


You can skip the google searching if you read from a textbook or take a class in chemistry; one of the first things you learn is about writing and balancing different types of chemical reactions.

Alternatively, a site like this may help. If you know that your reactants are copper acetate and ammonia, you can put Cu(CH3COO)2 and NH4OH(that's ammonium hydroxide, which is present in small amounts in ammonia solutions and actually donates the hydroxide ions for this reaction) on the left side, and your products, Cu(OH)2 + NH4CH3COO(ammonium acetate), it will balance it for you, and also calculates mass ratios and amounts.

bigtrevs98 - 21-4-2015 at 19:45

OK so I was basically going off something I read from a post somewhere on here (I'll post sources later when I find them again) and I dripped bleach into my copper acetate crystals a.d I ended up with this... what did I do?

[Edited on 22-4-2015 by bigtrevs98]

1429674339334.jpg - 581kB

http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=15484
" You can use it to make Schweizer's reagent - if you mix with NaOH or bleach, filter, and mix with ammonia"

[Edited on 22-4-2015 by bigtrevs98]

Milan - 21-4-2015 at 22:13

Hmm, the copper hydroxide probably turned into copper carbonate from atmospheric CO2.
I remember reading in a another thread about precipitating copper hydroxide using either NaOH or ammonia,
and it was found that the copper hydroxide from NaOH approach is to unstable to be useful, while the ammonia approach gave a more lasting copper hydroxide.

gatosgr - 28-4-2015 at 14:13

any copper salt with similar solubility constant will do I guess

what is bleach? chemical formula..

[Edited on 28-4-2015 by gatosgr]

Amos - 28-4-2015 at 17:06

Quote: Originally posted by bigtrevs98  
OK so I was basically going off something I read from a post somewhere on here (I'll post sources later when I find them again) and I dripped bleach into my copper acetate crystals a.d I ended up with this... what did I do?

[Edited on 22-4-2015 by bigtrevs98]



http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=15484
" You can use it to make Schweizer's reagent - if you mix with NaOH or bleach, filter, and mix with ammonia"

[Edited on 22-4-2015 by bigtrevs98]


I'm waiting to see a source that says dripping bleach into copper acetate solution produces Schweizer's reagent. Seriously, google search Schweizer's reagent, or better yet, search YouTube. Nobody's going to be helpful if you don't do any of your own work.

gatosgr - 28-4-2015 at 22:36

well if it does work you've percipitated copper hydroxide and now you should mix it with ammona in order to get the reagent you want