Hydronium - 15-12-2005 at 18:44
Hey I got a lot of aluminum carbonate just sitting around, and I am kinda board. Anybody know something fun I can do with it?
darkflame89 - 15-12-2005 at 23:19
Lolx, you cant have gotten aluminium carbonate. A solution containing aluminium ions and carbonate ions is unstable, with the aluminium hydroxide
being precipitated immediately and and carbon dioxide gas being given off. What you must have gotten is a white substance for aluminium hydroxide.
Both the aluminium ion and the ferric ion has the same property, in that they are slightly acidic due to hydrolysis. No solution with aluminium ions
and carbonate ions can coexist together.
Maybe some sort of mixed hydroxide and carbonate can be formed, but pure aluminium carbonate is definitely impossible.
guy - 15-12-2005 at 23:25
Maybe he has solid aluminum carbonate, that's possible. And you could react it with acids and produce all kinds of useful stuff, like AlCl3.
[Edited on 12/16/2005 by guy]
darkflame89 - 15-12-2005 at 23:34
But the question then would be how to obtain the carbonate in the first place as you cannot obtain it by normal route of synthesis.
If one needed aluminium chloride, one would usually obtain by direct synthesis of aluminium and chlorine, forming the anhydrous aluminium chloride
needed for organic synthesis. For the hydrated aluminium chloride, one simply just react aluminium and hydrochloric acid.
Hydronium - 16-12-2005 at 07:07
Hehe, I'm sorry I meant aluinum chloride not carbonate (what was I thinking?)
12AX7 - 16-12-2005 at 09:53
Oh, well that's different. 
Uhm... important catalyst for a bunch of reactions. Can smelt aluminum out of it, if you want (maybe heat with magnesium or other reactive metal, not
that it's worthwile to do that 
), add to water and make heat heh, dessicant,
etc.
Well is it anhydrous or hydrated? Suprisingly big difference.
Tim