Sciencemadness Discussion Board

How do I get manganese (II) sulfate crystals to form?

7lanthanum - 29-7-2016 at 11:15

I'm not sure how to get the solution to be supersaturated. If someone knows, please tell me. Thanks.

[Edited on 29-7-2016 by 7lanthanum]

NEMO-Chemistry - 29-7-2016 at 11:44

Quote: Originally posted by 7lanthanum  
I'm not sure how to get the solution to be supersaturated. If someone knows, please tell me. Thanks.

[Edited on 29-7-2016 by 7lanthanum]

Its seems to be deliquescent in crystal form, i did find a thread discussing some crystals of this.

http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=12323

It might not directly answer your question, but should give some avenues to explore that might help you. Also it mentions Woelens website has some info on this so thats well worth a visit.

Opps edit
Forgot Woelens site

http://www.oelen.net/science

Be careful when browsing his site, you can easily get sidetracked!! I spent ages reading it and wanted to try it all lol

[Edited on 29-7-2016 by NEMO-Chemistry]
Another edit

I know this isnt waht your looking for, but as its related and i think might be useful in the future for others i am posting it here, its a paper discussing doping the crystals.

http://www.ijsea.com/archive/special_issue/NCRTAM/IJSEA_NCRT...

[Edited on 29-7-2016 by NEMO-Chemistry]

Texium - 29-7-2016 at 11:57

Manganese(II) sulfate isn't deliquescent. I recrystallized some impure stuff over a year ago, but I just boiled it down to get a pale pink powder rather than letting it all crystallize slowly. It hasn't absorbed any water since then, and it's just in a regular jar. If you want to make decent crystals of it, just leave a beaker of it in solution out in the sun. The water will evaporate and it will crystallize. It could take a while though, and you may want to put some cheesecloth over the container to keep out dust and critters.

7lanthanum - 29-7-2016 at 12:55

Quote: Originally posted by zts16  
Manganese(II) sulfate isn't deliquescent. I recrystallized some impure stuff over a year ago, but I just boiled it down to get a pale pink powder rather than letting it all crystallize slowly. It hasn't absorbed any water since then, and it's just in a regular jar. If you want to make decent crystals of it, just leave a beaker of it in solution out in the sun. The water will evaporate and it will crystallize. It could take a while though, and you may want to put some cheesecloth over the container to keep out dust and critters.

Could I just use a small alum crystal as a seed and just submerge it into a saturated solution at room temperature to make a bigger crystal of manganese sulfate?

[Edited on 29-7-2016 by 7lanthanum]

j_sum1 - 29-7-2016 at 15:52

Why wouldn't you use a crystal of manganese sulfate as a seed? I don't get your logic here. A piece of rock would be as good as an alum crystal if you need a nucleation site. If you want to force a highly regular crystal you need to have a seed crystal with the exact same crystal parameters as the chemical you are crystallising -- ie, the same compound.

NEMO-Chemistry - 29-7-2016 at 17:52

Quote: Originally posted by zts16  
Manganese(II) sulfate isn't deliquescent. I recrystallized some impure stuff over a year ago, but I just boiled it down to get a pale pink powder rather than letting it all crystallize slowly. It hasn't absorbed any water since then, and it's just in a regular jar. If you want to make decent crystals of it, just leave a beaker of it in solution out in the sun. The water will evaporate and it will crystallize. It could take a while though, and you may want to put some cheesecloth over the container to keep out dust and critters.


I was just going from wikipeadia here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manganese(II)_sulfate

"Manganese(II) sulfate usually refers to the inorganic compound with the formula MnSO4·H2O. This pale pink deliquescent solid is a commercially significant manganese(II) salt"

Goes to show why i dont rely on wikipedia and would rather ask than trust a question here than trust it

7lanthanum - 30-7-2016 at 00:10

Quote: Originally posted by j_sum1  
Why wouldn't you use a crystal of manganese sulfate as a seed? I don't get your logic here. A piece of rock would be as good as an alum crystal if you need a nucleation site. If you want to force a highly regular crystal you need to have a seed crystal with the exact same crystal parameters as the chemical you are crystallising -- ie, the same compound.

Um, did you read my post? I CAN'T make manganese (II) sulfate seed crystals.

blogfast25 - 30-7-2016 at 00:30

Quote: Originally posted by 7lanthanum  

Um, did you read my post? I CAN'T make manganese (II) sulfate seed crystals.


Yes, you can.

Dip a glass stirring rod into your solution, then dry it in hot air (way above a Bunsen flame, e.g.) A small deposit of MnSO4 crystals will form. Repeat if there's not enough and scrape them off with a spatula or similar.

7lanthanum - 30-7-2016 at 00:34

Quote: Originally posted by blogfast25  
Quote: Originally posted by 7lanthanum  

Um, did you read my post? I CAN'T make manganese (II) sulfate seed crystals.


Yes, you can.

Dip a glass stirring rod into your solution, then dry it in hot air (way above a Bunsen flame, e.g.) A small deposit of MnSO4 crystals will form. Repeat if there's not enough and scrape them off with a spatula or similar.

I'll try that