Ba(ClO3)2
Harmless
Posts: 33
Registered: 30-4-2016
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
making barium metal
We've been trying to find I good way to make barium metal at home.
After a bit of research we came up with a few ideas:
1. Decomposing barium azide at 100-140 C
2. Reduction of barium oxide with aluminium at 1100 C
3. Possibly electrolysis of barium hydroxide.
Method 2 and 3 use readily available chemicals, but very high temperatures
were as the barium azide used in method 1 is very dangerous, not to mention hard to produce.
None of these methods seem overly appealing. Does anyone know of any easier feasible methods? if not which of the above would be the best way to go?
|
|
|
j_sum1
Administrator
Posts: 6325
Registered: 4-10-2014
Location: At home
Member Is Offline
Mood: Most of the ducks are in a row
|
|
Good luck.
The problem with Ba is that it has such a strong affinity for oxygen. It will oxidise rapidly with even the minutest amount of O2 present. That
should not stop you trying (and you might be successful) but you could easily end up with something that looks like a small piece of crud rather than
anything you would want to display in an element collection.
I recall DanVizine going to great lengths to prepare a shiny sample of barium and the things he learned are insightful. Let me see if I can find the
thread for you.
Here 'tis
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=59583#...
I know it is slightly off topic but it will give you an appreciation for the metal and its properties.
|
|
|
Daffodile
Hazard to Others
Posts: 167
Registered: 7-3-2016
Location: Highways of Valhalla
Member Is Offline
Mood: Riding eternal
|
|
I made some Barium from Barium Oxalate, for you it might be worth a try.
|
|
|
Ba(ClO3)2
Harmless
Posts: 33
Registered: 30-4-2016
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
could you please elaborate on how you did this?
barium oxalate doesn't seem that hard to make.
thanks
[Edited on 1-5-2016 by Ba(ClO3)2]
|
|
|
j_sum1
Administrator
Posts: 6325
Registered: 4-10-2014
Location: At home
Member Is Offline
Mood: Most of the ducks are in a row
|
|
I can only speculate. There is a nice route from iron oxalate to elemental iron. You simply roast it and prevent oxygen from entering your reaction
vessel. The only issue is that it is so finely divided that it is pyrophoric. I would assume that barium would be even worse. But I could of course
be wrong. It seems like an interesting idea.
|
|
|
morsagh
Hazard to Others
Posts: 187
Registered: 20-2-2014
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Barium oxalate decomposes to barium oxide so it won´t work.
|
|
|
blogfast25
International Hazard
Posts: 10562
Registered: 3-2-2008
Location: Neverland
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Yes, do elaborate on this, please?
Quote: Originally posted by Ba(ClO3)2  |
3. Possibly electrolysis of barium hydroxide.
None of these methods seem overly appealing. Does anyone know of any easier feasible methods? if not which of the above would be the best way to go?
|
There's also the electrolysis of an aqueous solution of a barium salt, with a mercury cathode. The formed Ba dissolves into the mercury as an amalgam.
Distilling off the mercury then leaves behind the pure barium metal.
[Edited on 1-5-2016 by blogfast25]
|
|
|
halogen
Hazard to Others
Posts: 372
Registered: 18-4-2004
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
Barium cyanide electrolysis, molten.
[Edited on 1-5-2016 by halogen]
F. de Lalande and M. Prud'homme showed that a mixture of boric oxide and sodium chloride is decomposed in a stream of dry air or oxygen at a red heat
with the evolution of chlorine.
|
|
|
XeonTheMGPony
International Hazard
Posts: 1640
Registered: 5-1-2016
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
in refrigeration in specialty oven welding a 95 Nitrogen 5% Hydrogen is used, the H2 actualy de-oxidizes the metal that is being oven brazed.
So distilling a mercury barium amalgam under a 95/5 nitrogen hydrogen atmosphere would do the job nicely.
I've never seen the gas mix provided publicly but you could make your own easy enough. Or under a hydrogen atmosphere under vacuum
|
|
|
BromicAcid
International Hazard
Posts: 3247
Registered: 13-7-2003
Location: Wisconsin
Member Is Offline
Mood: Rock n' Roll
|
|
Because everyone loves cyanogen, right? 
IIRC, there are established procedures in older literature to make via electrolysis. They use a eutectic salt mixture to get under the melting point
of barium to collect as a solid on the cathode. I remember some of this being in the calcium thread since you know how some people like to lump the
alkali earths under a single preparatory method. I recommend doing some research there.
|
|
|
Ba(ClO3)2
Harmless
Posts: 33
Registered: 30-4-2016
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
|
|
We successfully made a small amount of calcium metal by electrolysis of a barium chloride, calcium chloride, strontium chloride and potassium chloride
(http://www.google.com/patents/US3226311). Addition of the other chlorides lowers the melting point of the mixture to around 600 C (and calcium is
pretty much the product). We were wondering if barium could be made in a similar way.
Does anyone know anything about this?
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xpblue/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
