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Author: Subject: Zinc chloride
Polverone
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[*] posted on 15-8-2002 at 17:25
Zinc chloride


Let's discuss something really mundane, like ZnCl2! Okay, I want some ZnCl2 for making halides from alcohols. Vogel says to use conc. HCl and anhydrous ZnCl2.

So I react a bunch of post-1981 US pennies with HCl (first using H2O2/HCl to penetrate copper shells) and am left with a bunch of heavy clear liquid after filtration. The liquid goes into an evaporating dish and lands on the hot plate. Several hours of heating later, the liquid has turned golden and has a thin skin on top of it. It is a syrupy consistency.

Stirring the liquid with a bamboo skewer, the skewer turns brown and then black. A piece of paper, with a drop of the solution upon it, bubbles and turns black at the location of the solution when set on the hot plate.

There's a sort of sweet charred scent to the paper afterward, like I'd dripped H2SO4 on it.

What's going on here? Is ZnCl2 a powerful enough dehydrating agent to abstract water from compounds? Something else happening?

And - the real question - how long is this stuff going to heat before I get my anhydrous ZnCl2? Tune in soon for the exciting conclusion.
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Polverone
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[*] posted on 17-8-2002 at 16:00


The answer to "when will it go anhydrous?!" appears to be "not in this lifetime." Well, it's not quite that bad, but the evaporating dish full of stuff takes a very long time to lose water. Interestingly, the color has changed again. It's now a dark wine-colored syrup sitting over a layer of crystals that are tinted rose (presumably by the surrounding liquid). Improvising from household materials instead of buying lab grade certainly does hold some interesting surprises.
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rikkitikkitavi
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[*] posted on 17-8-2002 at 23:15


why do you need anhydrous ZnCl2?

The HCl used is about 65 % water, so any anhydrous salt is going to absorb the water anyway?

/rickard
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Polverone
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[*] posted on 20-8-2002 at 14:31
The followup


It was taking so long to dry completely that I eventually abandoned the project altogether. The text specified anhydrous ZnCl2, so that's what I was trying for. It used a relatively large amount of ZnCl2 and HCl with a small amount of alcohol. Perhaps anhydrous CaCl2, which I have ready access to, could be used instead.

I still wonder what caused the very interesting tinting of the mixture.
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PHILOU Zrealone
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smile.gif posted on 10-4-2003 at 14:07


ZnCl2 is a Lewis acid and is a catalyst of this halogenation of alcohols!
As many catalyst it is specific!
:(
Thus CaCl2 will not help!
Maybe AlCl3 or FeCl3 could help with conc HCl!

For primary alcohols you need catalyst and 100°C!
For secundary alcohols HCl conc and hot will do it and catalyst helps if there!
Tertiary alcohols do it at ambiant temp without catalyst with conc HCl!

:cool:




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Hjalmar_Poelzig
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[*] posted on 4-8-2003 at 21:25
ZnCl2 and basic salts


When hydrated ZnCl2 is heated, one is left chiefly with Zn(OH)Cl and HCl.

If you want anhydrous ZnCl2, dissolve raw zinc metal in HCl, add a bit of KClO3 and evaporate the HCl.

The product will still contain a small amount of basic salts, but is usable for most purposes.
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Polverone
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[*] posted on 4-8-2003 at 22:32
thanks for the tip!


Is there a particular source that you obtained this information from, or is it just one of those things that's stuck in your memory and you can't recall its genesis?
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[*] posted on 4-9-2015 at 12:40





Reductive Dehalogenation of Arylhalides and Alkylhalides with Zinc in THF Saturated Aqueous Ammonium Chloride
Rahim Hekmatshoar,* Sodeh Sajadi
Journal of the Chinese Chemical Society
2008, 55, 616-618


Abstract
A low-cost and highly effective zinc/THF-saturated aqueous ammonium chloride has been developed for dehalogenation of arylhalides and alkylhalides in aqueous systems.

Keywords: Reductive dehalogenation; Zinc; Aqueous ammonium chloride.

Attachment: Reductive Dehalogenation of Arylhalides and alkylhallides with zinc in THF saturated aqueous ammonium chloride.pdf (64kB)
This file has been downloaded 438 times





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AJKOER
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[*] posted on 5-9-2015 at 03:57


Per Atomistry http://zinc.atomistry.com/zinc_chloride.html on ZnCl2, a warehouse of historical recipes, to quote:

"The pure anhydrous salt of Zinc Chloride, ZnCl2, has been prepared by heating 3NH4Cl.ZnCl2 in a current of dry hydrogen chloride. The anhydrous salt has also been prepared by distilling anhydrous zinc sulphate with sodium or calcium chloride, by the action of heated zinc vapour and hydrogen on barium chloride, by distilling zinc with mercuric chloride, and by the action of chlorine on zinc oxide. Hydrous zinc chloride partially decomposes on heating, but the anhydrous salt may be obtained from it by treatment with concentrated hydrochloric acid and evaporation in an atmosphere of hydrogen chloride. It may also be prepared by adding zinc to molten lead chloride, passing dry chlorine into fused zinc, or by fusing zinc bromide in an atmosphere of chlorine"

Also:

"A bluish-white mass of zincoso-zincic chloride, Zn3Cl5, results from the solution of metallic zinc in molten zinc chloride. It is very hygroscopic, rapidly hydrolysed by water, and is probably best formulated as ZnCl.2ZnCl2.

Deliquescent rhombic crystals of the acid salt, 2ZnCl2.HCl.2H2O, separate from a solution of zinc chloride into which hydrogen chloride has been passed when the density of the liquid at 25° C. is 2. At 100° C. they lose HCl, and anhydrous ZnCl2 is in contact with a concentrated solution of the salt and hydrochloric acid. If this mother-liquor is treated with hydrogen chloride more crystals separate, and finally, if the liquid is saturated with hydrogen chloride and cooled to 0° C., long needles of ZnCl2.HCl.2H2O crystallise. These readily lose hydrogen chloride in dry air and form 2ZnCl2.HCl.2H2O."

A listing of possible double chlorides one may inadvertently create:

"The following double chlorides of zinc have been described: LiCl.ZnCl2.3H2O and 2LiCl.ZnCl2.2H2O; 3LiCl.ZnCl2.10H2O may exist; 2NaCl.ZnCl2.3H2O; KCl.ZnCl2.2H2O and 2KCl.ZnCl2; 2NH4Cl.ZnCl2; 3NH4Cl.ZnCl2; 2RbCl.ZnCl2; 2CsCl.ZnCl2 and 3CsCl.ZnCl2Cl2; CaCl2.ZnCl2. 5½H2O and 2CaCl2.ZnCl2.6H2O; SrCl2.ZnCl9.4H2O and SrCl2.ZnCl2; BaCl2.ZnCl2.4H2O; MgCl2.ZnCl2.6H2O; ZnCl2. PtCl4.6H2O."

And finally:

"Compounds of Zinc Chloride with Ammonia
The diammoniate ZnCl2.2NH4 is formed in the active Leclanche cell. It can be prepared by passing ammonia gas into an alcoholic solution of zinc chloride, or by passing ammonia into a hot concentrated aqueous solution of zinc chloride, and, after cooling to separate the less soluble tetrammoniate, ZnCl2.4NH4.H2O, crystallising the mother-liquor. The rhombic crystals are stable in air, insoluble in water or alcohol, and soluble in acids, ammonia, caustic alkalies, and ammonium chloride. Boiling water decomposes them. It can also be prepared by adding ammonia to cold dilute zinc chloride solution, by dissolving freshly precipitated zinc hydroxide in ammonium chloride, and by heating more highly ammoniated zinc chlorides. It distils when heated into glassy, hygroscopic monammoniate, ZnCl2.NH4.
The last named is very stable under heat, and is produced when ammonia acts on hot zinc chloride. Water decomposes it into ZnCl2.2NH4 and an oxychloride of zinc. "

which is perhaps much more than you ever wanted, or need, to know about ZnCl2.

[Edited on 5-9-2015 by AJKOER]
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