Chemistry Enrichment Resources
Church Resources
Experiments
Church Resources
Experiments
Chemistry Experiments
Experiments for an introductory (descriptive) inorganic chemistry course are not readily
available in easily usable forms although they are gradually appearing. Here are well class-tested experiments available as handouts
for use without any (or little) modification.
Synthesis of a Cobalt(III) Heteropoly Tungstate and Its Use in a Redox Kinetics Study
This is a colorful
synthesis that traps a Co(III) ion in a tetrahedral environment and introduces students to the world of isopoly and heteropoly anions.
The seemingly complex structures have a simple building block that is easily understood on the basis on electrostatic repulsions.
Co(III) is a good oxidizing agent and the second part studies this property in a kinetics study to determine the reaction order in
both the Co(III) and the reducing agent.
The experiment is in two parts: synthesis and kinetics. A PowerPoint
file is provided with photos taken by the author to illustrate the structures of isopolymolybdates and heteropolytungstates. Smoothfoam
1.5" octahedra are available from Plasteel Corp. as item #902-12 at a package of 12. This experiment first appeared inJ. Chem. Educ., 1992, 69, 936.
Determination of Bonding Environments of Nickel and Cobalt Complexes
Colorful nickel(II), cobalt(II), and
cobalt(III) complexes are synthesized and their bonding environments determined from infrared spectra, magnetic moments, and conductance.
With a variety of choices, students in pairs can synthesize two different complexes and share data. The emphasis is on nitrate ion
bonding (but not exclusively) as determined by very carefully done infrared spectroscopy.
Data from both
the author and from the literature are included in a separate file. This is a substantial expansion of the original experiment which
appeared in J. Chem. Educ., 1991, 68, 336.
Synthesis
Power Point
Experiment
Data File
Kinetics
