i've begun getting into chemistry and am about to go all in on getting glassware, tools, and chemicals. if you guys could give some suggestions for
reactions, sythesis or experiments for me to start off with that would be nice. thanks!
[Edited on 16-8-2022 by _thisnameistaken]B(a)P - 16-8-2022 at 14:50
Welcome to the forum!
Do you have an interest in any particular area of chemistry? An answer to this question might give you some more useful and targeted response.
mostly the "simpler" kinds of chemistry, with just regular organic or inorganic stuff (ie. not the other misc topics on this forum) if that makes
senseB(a)P - 16-8-2022 at 18:10
Copper chemistry is quite interesting and copper sulfate is generally a readily accessible reagent.
You could try
- synthesis of tetraamminecopper(II) sulfate, a nice deep purple crystalline product
- synthesis of Schweizer's reagent then use it to dissolve cellulose
- try a series of copper experiments, for example copper sulfate to copper hydroxide, then to copper oxide, then to copper.
Or you might like to start by making some useful reagents.
You could try
- synthesis of ammonium hydroxide solution
- purification/distillation of reagents from over the counter (OTC) sources, eg extraction of acetylsalicylic acid from aspirin tablets
- drying hydrates to their anhydrous form
- iodine from betadine digga - 16-8-2022 at 18:42
synthesize Urea Nitrate and then Chevreuls Salt. Fun and the ingredients are not that hard to get.B(a)P - 16-8-2022 at 19:10
synthesize Urea Nitrate and then Chevreuls Salt. Fun and the ingredients are not that hard to get.
Not sure I agree with urea nitrate as an option. It isn't a particularly interesting compound and potentially has legal implications given you would
be manufacturing an explosive, particularly given it is a 'go to' explosive for terrorist organisations. IMHO it is a waste of nitric acid, but maybe
it has other uses that I am not aware of? Lionel Spanner - 18-8-2022 at 00:01
A good start for organic chemistry would be making simple esters - with a bonus that the end products have a pleasant, if intense smell.
If you can get hold of sodium nitrite, azo coupling is another good reaction to try.
But whatever you do, don't even attempt to crack trithioacetone.
[Edited on 18-8-2022 by Lionel Spanner]j_sum1 - 18-8-2022 at 03:29
If you can get aluminium and magnesium powders and a range of oxides, thermites can be interesting. Ceramic flower pot filled with sand is a suitable
vessel. Outside obviously. And away from plant life (eg lawn) that you don't want cooked.
Ignition is best achieved with a magnedium ribbon wick sitting in a small pile of potassium permanganate. Pour a little glycerol on the pile and stand
clear. This gives 30-60 seconds which is a nice comfortable time.
Thermites give good opportunity to practice stoichiometry calculations. Variations can include flux additions to enable the metal to be collected.
Suitable oxides include iron, manganese copper (careful), boron, titanium, chromium, vanadium. I would avoid lead oxides. On my short list is cerium
oxide. That should be fun.
There is a thread here on exotic thermites. I think there is also one that discusses titanium. (There is a trick to this involving gypsum.) Former SM
member blogfast25 was sn expert in ths area and gives excellent advice and explanations. Good youtube videos include MrHomeScientist who still posts
here occasionally. "The gayest person on youtube" has a fantastic yt series at large scale. Well worth a watch.Brominerain - 29-8-2022 at 07:10
Some fun reactions:
1) If you have access to potassium permanganate(KMnO4), you can make a solution of KMnO4, then add it slowly to a solution of hydrogen peroxide(H2O2).
What happens is that when you pour the purple KMnO4 solution into the H2O2 it becomes colorless. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLUyeCC-2Ko&ab_channel=P...)(you don't need the sulfuric acid).
Make some interesting molecules:
1) Make Cu(OH)2. If you dissolve it in aqueous ammonia you can make Schweizer's reagent which is capable of dissolving cellulose (aka cotton).
2) Make BaSO4. It is white and insoluble in water, it is mainly used as a pigment. You can use any soluble Barium salt and react it with Epsom salt
(MgSO4).
3)Make phenolphthalein. It is a common ph indicator. Its synthesis may be kind of advanced for you since you have just started. Anyway, you will need
phenol, which you can make by decarboxylating salicylic acid, and you will also need phthalic anhydride, which you can make from vinyl gloves.
4)Make luminol. It emits light when it is oxidized. If the phenolphthalein synthesis was difficult for you, well this is worse.
If you decide that you want to synthesize you may need these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0GhnbEoSKE&ab_channel=N... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58Ve69s0qD0&ab_channel=N... https://www.sciencemadness.org/whisper/viewthread.php?tid=15...
Anyway, there are a lot of resources on luminol on SM.
5)Make esters. Many esters are used as artificial flavors, and generally, esters smell nice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_esters
Hope you find some of these interesting!
Enjoy your journey with chemistry! CharlieA - 29-8-2022 at 14:37
I think that any useful advice depends upon your present background/knowledge of chemistry.
What chemistry have your studied? at what level?Lion850 - 29-8-2022 at 16:31
Me: many years ago, just high school and books from the library. 20 years before the days of internet....
Nowadays of course online information in abundance. I stick with simple chemistry that (I think) I understand, and inorganic. Chemgineer - 30-8-2022 at 10:57
Add glycerine to a pile of powdered potassium permanganate outside or in a ventilated area and stand back and wait for the flames. Gammatron - 30-8-2022 at 17:18
My beginnings in chemistry was making sulfuric acid from burning sulfur as well as nitric acid from stump remover. But H2SO4 is easy to find at
hardware stores as drain opener and KNO3 or NaNO3 can be purchased really cheap from pyrotechnic and pottery sites which you'll need to make nitric
acid which is a must have. Get yourself a cheap distillation apparatus from eBay.
