Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Cobalt acquisition?

Amos - 9-4-2014 at 18:26

I'm looking for any way to obtain a cobalt salt (preferably one that isn't too volatile or expensive) or even cobalt metal, with a reasonable amount of ease. I've just done a lot of searching and it seems there is very little for me to go on.

gdflp - 9-4-2014 at 18:38

Look for cobalt carbonate which is used in pottery. Try eBay, seattle pottery supply, or US pigment corp. (The last two only if you are in the US)

[Edited on 10-4-2014 by gdflp]

Steam - 9-4-2014 at 19:35

Agree with gdflp, I would recommend eBay for a good deal. If you want very pure Cobalt, Galliumsource.com might have it, but it will be spendy.

What exactly are you doing with the cobalt?

zed - 9-4-2014 at 22:35

Jakers! Cobalt Chloride used to be as common as dirt. Every kid's toy chemistry set contained some. The way I remember it, it turns from pink to blue, depending on the presence of water.

Seems the European Union has branded Cobalt Chloride a "Substance of concern". They claim it is a carcinogen. Might have some effect on limiting access.

[Edited on 10-4-2014 by zed]

Subcomputer - 10-4-2014 at 01:35

Ebay or Seattle Pottery's Cobalt Carbonate is about the easiest route, when I bought from Seattle Pottery it ended up being basic carbonate rather than pure carbonate, and already ground to a very find powder. It had a bit of contamination in it, black powder I found at the end of reactions that I never felt like gathering up enough enough to see if it was calcined CoO or Carbon. I managed to easily electroplate out Cobalt Sulfate onto a stainless steel plate using a 3.5v, up to 4amp power supply and lead leads.

If you're new to acquiring chemicals yourself, learn to love carbonates. They're impressively stable and usually go for the cheapest shipping, and they're wonderful base materials for composing your own salts.

woelen - 10-4-2014 at 02:02

Pure cobalt metal for a decent price:

http://www.ebay.nl/itm/COBALT-METAL-500g-High-Grade-Co-99-9-...

Dissolves in acids without too much problems. Claim is 99.9%, I doubt that, but my experience with this seller is good, his materials have good purity.

I'm quite sure that if you contact this seller and ask for a smaller quantity, that this also can be arranged.

Amos - 10-4-2014 at 05:44

I forgot to mention that buying it at a store is preferable to online shopping, but thanks for the varied answers. It seems like pottery supply stores are my best bet. As far as what I'm going to do with it, I plan to make some brightly colored salts to use as potential dyes or just because they look neat. I also plan to extract the metal in time to add to my element collection, so really a compound is preferable.

[Edited on 10-4-2014 by No Tears Only Dreams Now]

MrHomeScientist - 10-4-2014 at 06:38

Good luck buying anything even remotely specialized from local sources any more. Pottery pigments are your best bet, as others have said. Online ordering is generally easy and cheap, though.

I bought Co metal from United Nuclear for my collection, and they have some salts as well. The metal is amazingly hard to machine, though. I had a hell of a time drilling out some turnings to fit in a display vial.

The Volatile Chemist - 10-4-2014 at 12:44

Quote: Originally posted by zed  
Jakers! Cobalt Chloride used to be as common as dirt. Every kid's toy chemistry set contained some. The way I remember it, it turns from pink to blue, depending on the presence of water.

Seems the European Union has branded Cobalt Chloride a "Substance of concern". They claim it is a carcinogen. Might have some effect on limiting access.

[Edited on 10-4-2014 by zed]


I agree! Well, old kits, I got one that's at LEAST 25 years old, the last of the 'chemcraft' brand, when they began to fade. It had 28 chemicals, one cobalt chloride. In regards to carcinogens (Cool name, cool concept...), almost anything that's soluble that has cobalt in it is a carcinogen, but not a strong one. It can be used for controllable mutations in bacterium... But any ways, pottery supply seems likely, and common in the better chemistry kits. You could try the 'C' series (C1000, C2000, C3000, etc.), as you might get a small amount from there if all else fails.

bismuthate - 10-4-2014 at 13:14

Sorry but none of the kits in the C series have it any. One of my classmates brought in an old chemistry set to school that contained cobalt chloride.

Zyklon-A - 10-4-2014 at 13:36

50 grams for $10.00 with free shipping: http://www.ebay.com/itm/50g-grams-High-Purity-99-8-Electroly...

The Volatile Chemist - 11-4-2014 at 13:47

Quote: Originally posted by bismuthate  
Sorry but none of the kits in the C series have it any. One of my classmates brought in an old chemistry set to school that contained cobalt chloride.

My first kit (When I was like 11 and knew nothing in regards to chemistry) had some.

Cobalt?

quantinstarrybiz - 13-4-2014 at 06:48

Try Amazon, Ebay and so on, but if you are looking to buy a bigger quantity, perhaps a better option is to try Chinese markets such as Alibaba, they have various wholesale products at low prices, and they can ship you exactly the thing you are looking for.