Analysis of a Copper Coordination Compound

A Laboratory Report for CHEM.2140

Performed By:
David Benoit

Date Performed: 4/7/2015

Date Submitted: 4/21/2015

Abstract: An unknown copper compound analyzed in the lab was found to be CuSO4(NH3)2 +
H2O. The stoichiometric value of the unknown compound not rounded to the lowest values was
found to be Cu4.6SO4(NH3)9.8 + 5.4H2O. This experiment was completed in three parts to find the
mass percent of Cu(II), SO4, and NH3. Spectrophotometry was used to find that the mass percent
of Cu(II) was 44.6%. SO4 was precipitated out of the unknown compound as BaSO4 to find that
the mass percent of SO4 was 14.8%. Titration was the technique used to find that the mass
percent of NH3 was 25.7%. These values were added and subtracted from 100% to find the mass
that the mass percent of H2O was 14.9%.

Introduction: The analysis of the Copper compound was completed in three different parts. SO4
was isolated and measured by dissolving it in 6M nitric acid and precipitating it as barium
sulfate. Titration was used to measure the amount of NH3 in the compound and
spectrophotometry was used to measure the amount of Cu(II) in the compound.
To analyze the amount of sulfate ion (SO4) in the copper compound about 1g of the
unknown compound was dissolved in 6M nitric acid (HNO3). Saturated barium nitrate
[Ba(NO3)2] was added to the solution to precipitate the sulfate ion out of solution as barium
sulfate (BaSO4). The precipitated barium sulfate was dried by vacuum filtration. After one week
of drying the barium sulfate was weighed. This was done to find the mass percent of SO4 in the
unknown compound.
The amount of ammonia (NH3) in the unknown compound was analyzed with titration.
About 1g of the unknown compound was dissolved in deionized water. The indicator methyl
orange was added to aid in finding the endpoint. 0.5028M HCl was used to titrate the solution of
unknown compound. When titrating the unknown compound the indicator changed from a dark
blue color to a very red-orange. This was done three times.
Spectrophotometry was used to analyze the amount of copper [Cu(II)] in the unknown
copper compound. A stock solution of 0.0899M Cu(II) and 1M HNO3 was measured in the
spectrophotometer to create a best fit curve to determine the concentration of Cu(II) in the
unknown compound. Three different masses of the unknown compound were measured in the
spectrophotometer: about 0.11g, about 0.14g, and about 0.17g. The compound was dissolved in
1M HNO3 and measured in the spectrophotometer.
Results and Discussion:

Graph 1: Best Fit Line [Cu(II)]

Calibration Curve
1.200
f(x) = 14.48x - 0.05
1.000
0.800

Ansorbance

0.600
0.400
0.200
0.000
0.01

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.06

0.07

0.08

0.09

[Cu2+]

The measured absorbance, the x value, and the y-intercept were used to determine the
concentration of Cu(II) in the unknown copper compound, which led to the mass percentage of
Cu(II) in the compound.
Table 1: Mass Percent found from each part of the experiment.
Compound
NH3
SO4
Cu(II)
H2O
Total Mass Percent

Mass Percent
25.7%
14.8%
44.6%
14.9%
100%

After finding the mass percent of NH3, SO4, and Cu(II), these values were added and subtracted
from 100% to find the mass percent of water in the unknown compound.
Table 2: Stoichiometric values of each part of the compound assuming 100g of the unknown
compound.
Compound
CuSO4(NH3)2 + H2O

Stoichiometric Value

Rounded
Stoichiometric Value

NH3
SO4

9.8
1

10
1

Lowest
Stoichiometric
Value
2
1

Cu(II)
H2O

4.6
5.4

5
5

1
1

The mass percent of each compound was used to find the molar ratio of the unknown compound
by converting each percentage into grams, finding the moles of each part measured of the
unknown compound and dividing each by the lowest moles value.
Conclusion: The unknown copper compound was found to be CuSO4(NH3)2 + H2O. This value
can be considered legitimate because the entire class data was used to find this value instead of
just the value measured by each individual student. This lowers the possibility of extreme
answers and lessens the impact outliers have on the data.