Hello, Can somebody please tell me what is the most convenient method of making metallic indium out of indium chloride.
[Edited on 14-1-2012 by gl92038]Adas - 14-1-2012 at 13:23
React it with Al and evaporate the AlCl3.blogfast25 - 14-1-2012 at 13:30
Electrolysis of a eutectic mixture of anhydrous InCl<sub>3</sub> and other halides like NaCl, KCl or CaCl2 should be a possibility. The
metal should sink to the bottom of the electrolysis cell, neatly protected from air.
But obtaining anhydrous indium trichloride will be a bit of a challenge in itself. Calcining a mixture of the hydrate and NH4Cl would probably yield
the anh. salt.gl92038 - 14-1-2012 at 13:32
Can't I make anhydrous trichloride using thionyl chloride?blogfast25 - 14-1-2012 at 13:32
AlCl3 has a low heat of formation (it's mainly a covalent compound) but its low boiling point would cause it to boil off, thus shifting the
equilibrium of the reaction to the right. In has a very high BP, so that fits too.
Use an excess anh. InCl3: then heat the finished mixure to above the MP of the remaining InCl3, to avoid contamination of the In metal with Al.
[Edited on 14-1-2012 by blogfast25]blogfast25 - 14-1-2012 at 13:33
Can't I make anhydrous trichloride using thionyl chloride?
Probably. I haven't got any though so I wouldn't be trying that myself.gl92038 - 14-1-2012 at 23:40
Thank you unionised - 15-1-2012 at 03:55
My word, you all seem to be trying to do things the hard way.
Dissolve it in water.
Add sodium carbonate to ppt the In as carbonate/ hydrated oxide/ whatever.
Decant off the NaCl soln and wash the solid.
Dissolve in sulphamic acid solution. (Other non-oxidisable acids would probably work too)
Electroplate with a carbon anode and a stainless steel cathode.
You could electrolyse it directly, but the Cl2 is a nuisance.
I had an indium sulfate solution, to that I've added some NaCl and aluminium to plate out the indium (the NaCl is for speeding the reaction up). After
that I let the indium simmer in NaOH solution to dissolve any remaining aluminium. Then I washed it a few times with water and let it simmer for a
very short time in dilute HCl, after that I have washed it with water again.
I also washed it with acetone to speed up the drying, but that's pretty much optional. The yield was about 90-95%.unionised - 15-1-2012 at 05:47
I think hot charcoal would reduce In2O3. In doesn't form any carbides and so you don't need to worry about alloying as you would with Al as the
reductant. gl92038 - 15-1-2012 at 06:19
Thank you all for your help.blogfast25 - 15-1-2012 at 06:40
Unionised: I thought, w/o knowing much about indium, that the metal was more reacitve than that,
