Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Hexaaminenickel(II) Chloride Concentration

thesmug - 20-2-2014 at 18:56

I just got my Nickel(II) Chloride in the mail after weeks of waiting and was going to make some Hexaaminenickel(II) Chloride (via this method) but I completely forgot what concentration of Nickel(II) Chloride solution to use. Does anybody here know what concentration to use? Here's the reaction equation:
[Ni(H2O)6]Cl2 + 6NH3 == [Ni(NH3)6]Cl2 + 6H2O

Brain&Force - 20-2-2014 at 20:46

Any sufficiently large concentration will do; the important thing is to have your ammonia quite concentrated.

I have another question, can a neutral tetraammine complex be isolated?

DraconicAcid - 20-2-2014 at 20:58

Quote: Originally posted by Brain&Force  
I have another question, can a neutral tetraammine complex be isolated?


I'm not sure- the hexammine is much lower in solubility, so it's easy to isolate.

packetforger - 21-2-2014 at 05:35

I have a writeup (or three) on this available, links below. Can import into thread if needed. It is my first posting here, so unsure if it is acceptable to simply post links to writeup or if I should import the pictures/data.

Preparing the hexamminenickel(ii) chloride
http://packetforger.wordpress.com/2013/09/25/preparation-of-...

And some fun analysis of the reaction product (good for determining how effective your reaction was, etc).

Determining percentage Ammonia in product
http://packetforger.wordpress.com/2013/10/05/determining-per...

Determining amount of Nickel in product
http://packetforger.wordpress.com/2013/09/27/determining-the...

I cannot comment on tetrammine variant as have not looked into it,I can always ask my lab supervisor sometime though.

[Edited on 21-2-2014 by packetforger]

thesmug - 21-2-2014 at 15:39

Quote: Originally posted by packetforger  
I have a writeup (or three) on this available, links below. Can import into thread if needed. It is my first posting here, so unsure if it is acceptable to simply post links to writeup or if I should import the pictures/data.

Preparing the hexamminenickel(ii) chloride
http://packetforger.wordpress.com/2013/09/25/preparation-of-...

And some fun analysis of the reaction product (good for determining how effective your reaction was, etc).

Determining percentage Ammonia in product
http://packetforger.wordpress.com/2013/10/05/determining-per...

Determining amount of Nickel in product
http://packetforger.wordpress.com/2013/09/27/determining-the...

I cannot comment on tetrammine variant as have not looked into it,I can always ask my lab supervisor sometime though.

[Edited on 21-2-2014 by packetforger]


That was a very interesting read. I forgot to ask earlier, would it be necessary to do this reaction outside or in a fume hood for any reason other than the bad smell given by ammonia?

DraconicAcid - 21-2-2014 at 15:42

You want concentrated ammonia, the smell of which is not merely bad, but overpowering.

thesmug - 21-2-2014 at 16:09

Quote: Originally posted by DraconicAcid  
You want concentrated ammonia, the smell of which is not merely bad, but overpowering.


Would 30% pose any respiratory harm?

Metacelsus - 21-2-2014 at 20:15

It definitely could if you breathed the concentrated fumes for too long. However, with good ventilation it will not be much of a threat.

thesmug - 21-2-2014 at 20:40

Quote: Originally posted by Cheddite Cheese  
It definitely could if you breathed the concentrated fumes for too long. However, with good ventilation it will not be much of a threat.


I actually finished the reaction a few hours ago. It doesn't seem to have done any harm.

packetforger - 22-2-2014 at 02:48

I did the ammonia bits inside the fumehood, but that was mainly because of supervisors instructions, etc. Filtration and washing was done outside of a fumehood.

I find the smell of ammonia not so bad, and certainly not something that would unduly worry me regarding fumes on this small a scale, but some people seem extra sensitive to it. I would, however, do it outside or in a well ventilated area.

MrHomeScientist - 24-2-2014 at 10:07

It's been a while since I recorded that, but if I remember right none of the smells in this experiment were too overpowering. I only used a few mL of the ammonia, and kept the window open while I was in there. Also if I remember right, my nickel chloride starting solution was made via nickel nitrate -> hydroxide -> chloride by addition of base followed by acid. I'm not sure what the concentration was. I didn't want to isolate the solid chloride because it's deliquescent and would be annoying to get completely dry, and as you saw it wasn't really critical to do so for the experiment. Glad it worked for you! Any photos?

thesmug - 24-2-2014 at 12:53

Quote: Originally posted by MrHomeScientist  
It's been a while since I recorded that, but if I remember right none of the smells in this experiment were too overpowering. I only used a few mL of the ammonia, and kept the window open while I was in there. Also if I remember right, my nickel chloride starting solution was made via nickel nitrate -> hydroxide -> chloride by addition of base followed by acid. I'm not sure what the concentration was. I didn't want to isolate the solid chloride because it's deliquescent and would be annoying to get completely dry, and as you saw it wasn't really critical to do so for the experiment. Glad it worked for you! Any photos?

I will be sure to post some when I get home! I didn't get a very high yield because a lot of it was stuck in the filter paper :(.

blogfast25 - 24-2-2014 at 13:28

Nice blog, packetforger!

thesmug - 24-2-2014 at 15:39

http://imgur.com/2S53gOT.png

[Edited on 2/24/14 by thesmug]