jamit
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copper acetate experiment
Hi. I just finished making copper II acetate crystals using copper II carbonate and vinegar. The crystals are rather dark blue and some green. They
are really beautiful crystals.
Now, what can I do with them? I checked out wikipaedia and nothing useful is given. is this the end of the road with this synthesis. I want to use
this compound for something useful other than to say that I've made it.
Can someone suggest further experiments and what I might do with copper acetate? Make bigger crystals??? Pyro color??
Thanks in advance
[Edited on 10-2-2011 by jamit]
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a_bab
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If you looked no further then some 5 threads downwards you would have seen this:
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=10948
Dry distill it to get back your vinegar in the form of much more concentrated acetic acid. The leftover is the exciting pyroforic copper powder (it
autoignites in the air) and some CuO.
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jamit
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thanks a_bab, but I saw that post and while "peach" did a great experiment, the result wasn't conclusive of a really "pure" acetic acid. there was
way too much contaminants. I rather do the sodium acetate anhydrous and sulfuric acid distillation if I wanted concentrated acetic acid.
Sorry but I was thinking of something more "simple". But thanks alway!
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a_bab
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Just heat some in a test tube with a small tube attached, then shake off the copper left. It'll ignite in the air creating sparks and making for an
effective trick.
Besides crystal making and chemical garden I can't see any other exciting use for it. Not even as a pyro blue colorant (it's too hygroscopical)
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Retard-3000
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Single and Double displacement reactions could provide some useful compounds.
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Sedit
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Not exactly easy but I have been experimenting with soaking fired ceramics in concentrated Cu(II)acetate and putting it in a reduction firing causing
the ceramic to look exactly like a piece of copper when done. The final effect is rather cool with irridesent copper look all over the figure.
Knowledge is useless to useless people...
"I see a lot of patterns in our behavior as a nation that parallel a lot of other historical processes. The fall of Rome, the fall of Germany — the
fall of the ruling country, the people who think they can do whatever they want without anybody else's consent. I've seen this story
before."~Maynard James Keenan
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chemoleo
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Check the lead (Pb) threads (I think I wrote a longer post on this somewhere- edit: here it one http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=2461):
With CuAc2, you can dissolve solid lead metal, forming PbAc2 (lead acetate) and Cu. The PbAc2 can be crystallised, and used for other interesting
things 
[Edited on 11-2-2011 by chemoleo]
Never Stop to Begin, and Never Begin to Stop...
Tolerance is good. But not with the intolerant! (Wilhelm Busch)
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jamit
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Thanks guys for all the suggestions. I'll try the one by chemoleo!
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peach
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You can use it to decarboxylate things, like tryptophan to tryptamine.
DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!
Playing around with these may be considered an attempt to make trippy drugs. But they're an example and you can try it with others.
I have uploaded some more photos to that thread a_bab linked to, as I had a go at making it by electrolysis yesterday and today as well.
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ThatchemistKid
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Copper(II) acetate in conjuction with ammonium nitrate is used for oxidations such as the oxidation of benzoin to benzil (see attached pdf).
Attachment: copperacetate ammonium nitrate oxidation of benzoin to benzil.pdf (523kB)
This file has been downloaded 66662 times
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jamit
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thanks peach for the info but what you've suggested is completely out of my boundary of chemistry knowledge. I have no idea what you are talking
about. But thanks for answering my question.
thanks to ThatchemistKid also. But i don't understand what benzoin is and how it oxidizes to benzil. I'll do some research into the stuff. But
thanks.
[Edited on 12-2-2011 by jamit]
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White Yeti
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You can use copper acetate to make Benedict's reagent. Usually sulphate is used, but if you recalculate the stoichiometry, you can use the acetate
instead. I'm really surprised how many people say that you can't use it for anything; you can use it wherever you can use copper sulphate, I use it
all the time.
You can mix with sodium bicarbonate to make copper carbonate, and decompose the carbonate on a hot plate to make copper oxide. You can use it to plate
copper onto things. You can use it to make batteries - provided you also have zinc acetate. You can use it to make Schweizer's reagent - if you mix
with NaOH or bleach, filter, and mix with ammonia.
The crystals are pretty, but there is so much more to do with copper salts besides growing crystals (it's so elementary schoolish).
Have fun!
"Ja, Kalzium, das ist alles!" -Otto Loewi
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