Sciencemadness Discussion Board

tin tetracloride

gig - 1-6-2002 at 01:52

does any one knows how i can form SnCL4 from tin and something else?

Nick - 1-6-2002 at 05:25

If I was trying to do it, I'd melt tin (mp is c. 250*C IIRC) in a test tube and bubble in dry chlorine (KMnO4 + HCl, dry it by bubbling it through conc. H2SO4). Pass the vapours formed into another test tube cooled by salt/ice, or a freezing mixture (NH4Cl + KNO3 in water is a quite good one, IIRC). The SnCl4 should condense, but the excess chlorine would not. It would need to be vented outside with good ventilation, or made inert by reacting it with something, or you'll probably die.
A mixture of chlorides will probably be formed, if it matters then it may be possible to distil it to obtain the desired compound.

Rhadon - 1-6-2002 at 06:45

I also tried making SnCl4 by bubbling Cl2 through molten Sn some time ago, but it didn't work. I probably didn't use enough chlorine gas.

to messy and dangerous your way

gig - 1-6-2002 at 08:05

i heard that HCL + Sn will form SnCL4 or SnCL2 when i tried it it din't work and the tin remained undissolved in HCL

do u know a similar method that works?

Rhadon - 1-6-2002 at 15:17

HCl und Sn will only result in SnCl2. Unfortunately this method is inefficient because Sn is too inert. Using an alkalescent [is that the correct word?] salt of Sn would work much better.
I did a little search, but I couldn't find a compound that matches this requirement.

Polverone - 1-6-2002 at 16:34

In

A REVISION OF THE ATOMIC WEIGHT OF TIN.1 THE ELECTROLYTIC DETERMINATION OF TIN IN TIN TETRACHLORIDE.,
Gregory Paul Baxter, Howard Warner Starkweather;
J. Am. Chem. Soc.; 1920; 42(5); 905-917.,

the authors report that fresh, electrolytically purified metallic tin reacted with chlorine at atmospheric pressure (forming SnCl4) so vigorously that cooling was necessary to prevent the tin from melting. It sounds like it might be worth making another attempt at preparation, just using freshly cleaned metallic tin and mild (if any) heating.

electrolysis

gig - 2-6-2002 at 01:01

i had a thought : when electrolysing a concentrated solution of NaCL clorine gas bubles to the anode.So i tried to put a tin electrode and after two days of operation the tin rode formed a gray substance around the electrode but after a test to use this compound as catalyst it didn't work meaning that it is not SnCl2

note : i dont care if i get SnCL2 or SnCL4
if the first is more easy to form just tell me

Rhadon - 2-6-2002 at 03:08

SnCl2 should be easier to make than SnCl4.
If you want to use electrolysis you could also try to electrolyze HCl with Sn electrodes (cool it to keep the temperature well below the boiling point of HCl). You won't get very pure SnCl2 with this method (and a lot of Cl2...), but it I expect it to work better than the way using NaCl.
You should be able to improve the result by evaporating the remaining HCl (along with the Sn salts in it), thus reacting some of the unwanted byproducts to SnCl2.

PHILOU Zrealone - 10-4-2003 at 13:02

Sn + 2HCl --> SnCl2 + H2(g)
SnCl2(dry) + Cl2(dry) --> SnCl4(s/l)

Sn warmed dropped in a large closed bucket of dry Cl2 will burn fiercelly creating clouds of SnCl4!