Any info on Gallium compounds and production needed!

Quote: Originally posted by gdflp

Gallium is soluble in nitric acid. To make gallium compounds, simply dissolve the metal in nitric acid, then add a stoichiometric amount of a base such as sodium hydroxide (gallium oxide is amphoteric similar to aluminum, so an excess will cause yields to drop) to precipitate Ga(OH)3. This should be soluble in acids to make the corresponding gallium salts, and soluble in bases to yield gallates.

Quote: Originally posted by Tdep

I did some gallium chemistry once. I was making some gallium trioxide for a gallium thermite, because I liked throwing my money away (now I just spend it on food, it's miserable). Anyway, the gallium metal very slowly dissolved in concentrated HCl, and precipitated white Ga(OH)3 with NaOH solution. Adding just a slight excess of the NaOH caused it to redissolve, forming sodium gallinate (that's the right word yeah?). I then heated the gallium hydroxide to form the oxide. The thermite failed but forget about that bit. But importantly, if you don't have all the information in front of you, experiment a little! Treat gallium like a less reactive aluminium. It's going to be amphoteric, not going to form pretty complexes and won't be particularly colourful at all, hardly straying from white or clear. See what you can create. Oh and have fun

Quote: Originally posted by fluorescence

I just translate a small passage from Gmelin's Gallium. By the way whenever you want to know something about an element and it's compounds look into the Gmelin Books. It's full of elemental chemistry. So basically it says here: - 50% HF will produce Galliumfluoride - Diluted HCl (1n) won't react very fast at cold temperatures, however at elevated temperatures it should start with a vigorous reaction - Nitric Acid will react at about 50°C producing Nitrous Oxides (highly concentrated) - Con. Nitric Acid will cause passivation - It dissolves very slowly in Sulphuric Acid - It will react with a potassium hydroxide solution - There is also some reaction with Ammonia but the temperatures are too high to do that at home - If cooled you can react it with dry Chlorine to form the Chloride, but be careful, at elevated temperatures it will ignite as it is very exothermic. Oh and them amount of chlorine is important. It says here that a slow stream of Chlorine will produce Gallium(II)Chloride and a strong stream Gallium(III)chloride (didn't know that even existed) - Here is something interesting. If you add Bromine to the metal you'll get the Bromide however this must be done at (-35°C) . If you do that close to 0°C it will ignite and will 'react like an alkali metal in water' to quote the author. What you can do however is to make a solution of Bromine in Potassium Bromide solution. It will react at room temperature to form Gallium(III)Bromide. - You can heat it with Iodine but that is quite dangerous, too and it will produce layers that don't react so it has to be shaken while heating it and it might catch fire. So I wouldn't do that with iodine. Yeah that's basically it. But no guarantee that it will react that way or won't explode at some point. Most of the reactions seem to be quite exothermic. So be careful ! The Book is from 1936 and some passages quoted from 18xx so there might be different products formed if you analyze it with modern technology who knows.

Quote: Originally posted by fluorescence

Yeah I'm sorry I have the Book on Gallium as an Ebook and it's full of it's chemistry. There is even a Gmelin on Astatine where all of it's salts and chemistry is predicted. But it's in German. So unless you don't want me to translate you a certain passage, like you needed information on a compound you won't be able to read it. But there is a lot on the chemistry of Gallium. So here is the english table of contents to the book if you are looking for something specific: https://app.box.com/s/wvl1lq255azyewlbgtjao62fqvipjk8u

Quote: Originally posted by fluorescence

Gallium(III)Oxide: 'Gallium(III)Oxide is produced by heating Gallium metal in an uncovered porcelain crucible above a free flame. In a calorimetric bomb under a high oxygen pressure. By burning Gallium in a custom built grate (dunno the word here, where you roast stuff on ) in special furnaces Gallium(III)Oxide can be made in any porosity ( it says that way it would be really pure ).' But I guess you need a special furnace and other stuff for it. 'It can be made by heating Galliumhydroxide. A solution of Gallium in HNO3, that was heated to dryness can be heated further to make Gallium(III)Oxide' -> I guess that would be the easiest way to heat Galliumnitrate till the oxide is formed. ' Ammonium-Gallium Sulfate, I guess this is how it's called will form the oxide when heated high enough. And by heating either Gallium Sulfate, Gallium Oxalate or basic Gallium Acetate. ' That's the passage about how to make it. If you want any of the original papers where this information was taken from, there is always a source behind every sentence I could give it, too if you liked to read the original literature first. Oh and there is a small text under how to make it: It says that there are two diferent types of modifications of Gallium(III)Oxide. Dunno if you need that information. The rest ist basic stuff about the chemistry of Gallium(III)Oxide, but there is only one interesting line in the physical information box: ' If heated to 735°C in a HHO-Flame, it will show a strong blue luminescence.' And 'If you have elctrical discharges through a pipe that has some Ga(III)Oxide in it, you will see a blue to purple glow. If you add 0.1 - 2 % Chromium(III)Oxide, it will change to really bright red fluorecence. ' Oh and for your preparation it says here that heating it to 1300°C won't destroy it so I guess you can just heat as high as you can get to make sure everything turned into the oxide. If you need anything else, let me know.