Uploaded April 2017 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
We already showed you how to make CuCl. Now if you leave this for a while on air it will start to react with it forming Cu(II)...but what happens if you use Sulfur instead?
In this video we mix some really brown CuCl (freshly made but already started to oxidize while washing it) with elemental Sulfur. Neither of them mixes with water however. Then the mixture is heated while suddenly the sulfur turns black and the precipitate also turns dark till the solution is clear and only black masses remain.
What happens is thet CuCl reacts with S8 to form Cu2S and Cu(II).
So some of the Sulfur oxidizes the Cu(I) to Cu(II) while being reduced to S(2-) which immeditaly precipiates with the rest of Cu(I).
Now Cu(II) precipitates with Sulfide as well and Cu2S tends to react with S8 to form CuS2 which should at some point shift the reaction towards a CuS2 being formed.
It would be interesting to see whether the same thing happens with Selenium and Tellurium all of them should be black as well so it would be easy to see any difference (well Se and Te are black, too but it seems like they rather float on water).
We already showed you how to make CuCl. Now if you leave this for a while on air it will start to react with it forming Cu(II)...but what happens if you use Sulfur instead?
In this video we mix some really brown CuCl (freshly made but already started to oxidize while washing it) with elemental Sulfur. Neither of them mixes with water however. Then the mixture is heated while suddenly the sulfur turns black and the precipitate also turns dark till the solution is clear and only black masses remain.
What happens is thet CuCl reacts with S8 to form Cu2S and Cu(II).
So some of the Sulfur oxidizes the Cu(I) to Cu(II) while being reduced to S(2-) which immeditaly precipiates with the rest of Cu(I).
Now Cu(II) precipitates with Sulfide as well and Cu2S tends to react with S8 to form CuS2 which should at some point shift the reaction towards a CuS2 being formed.
It would be interesting to see whether the same thing happens with Selenium and Tellurium all of them should be black as well so it would be easy to see any difference (well Se and Te are black, too but it seems like they rather float on water).
 (???) [no audio]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p8TuAZuQeTU/mqdefault.jpg "Cobalt Chemistry: [Co(CO3)3](3-) (???) [no audio]
If Co(II) solutions are treated with alkaline H2O2 Co2O3 and CoO2 may form. If however the precipitate from Sodium Bicarbonate and Cobalt Chloride is oxidized with a 10 M H2O2 at cold temperatures a green product froms.
Well we used worm solutions, 3% Hydrogen Peroxide and Sodium Carbonate but still got a green compound. Of course we cant be sure about its composition that way. It could also be the different oxides but the green color at least indicates some of the complex might have actually formed that way.
The Co(II) is oxidized to Co(III) which forms an insoluble complex with Na2CO3, Na3[Co(CO3)3]. Interesting enough the carbonate can be easily substituted for other ligands making this complex a great precursor to other Co(III) compounds.
We already discussed the chemistry of Co(II) and Co(III) in another video and showed that the oxidation potential is highly dependend on the system you use Cobalt in.")
](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q70jHweiIog/mqdefault.jpg "Iron Chemistry: [Fe(CN)5(NO2)](4-)
In this video, we show some of the interesting properties of a compound called Sodium Nitroprusside. Often used to analyse Sulphides and Sulphites it shows some interesting chemistry, too.
Here we convert the NO-Ligand in [Fe(CN)5(NO)]2- to NO2 in [Fe(CN)5(NO2)](4-) using Potassium Hydroxide. While basic the reaction shifts towards the yellow NO2-compound. As later H2SO4 is added the pale red Nitroprusside Forms again.
Now you might ask yourself why NO(+) and NO2(-) shift upon addition of OH(-). This reaction is quite similar to a video we have already uploaded. Back then, we tried to add a polysulfide to the same compound and said a NOS-Ligand would form. The Sulphide was a substitute for HS(-) which is the heavier form of OH(-) thus they create a similar compound. We notice that nucleophiles readily attack the Nitrosyl-Nitrogen.
As CN is quite inert here and the Iron doesnt react anyways the complex is a stable substitute for NO(+) and can be used to do reactions with it. It would be interesting to also do the same experiment with Selenides and Tellurides. Those however are quite expensive unfortunately. Maybe we will try to make a Polyselenide and Telluride again and use that.
At the moment we also try to change the NO2(-) for a AsO2(-), yes a Fe-As-coordination. We tried this more than once and it is mentioned in literature to be orange but unfortunately so is the reactant itself.")
![Chromium Chemistry: [2xfaster] Chromium in Gas-Phase (Chromylchloride)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qeQLe06sV0E/mqdefault.jpg "Chromium Chemistry: [2xfaster] Chromium in Gas-Phase (Chromylchloride)
Chromyl Chloride is a well known compound in organic chemistry. We tried using its property to become airborne quite easily and tested if the gaseous Chromium would react with some Hydrogen Peroxide in another vial to form the blue Peroxo-complex.
So we prepared two vials, one containing some 3% Hydrogen Peroxide and diluted H2SO4 and the other containing a mixture of KCl and K2Cr2O7. To the second one a few drops of conc. H2SO4 were added. It starts to foam and an orange (hard to see on camera) gas forms. On the video it looks quite pale but it was quite dense in reality. On the glass walls you can see some red drops of liquid Chromyl Chloride. We covered both vials with a beaker and waited. After some time a blue complex forms proofing that the yellow gas is not only Chlorine but also a gaseous Chromium compound.
To understand the structure of Chromylchloride a bit more it is easier to remind yourself that this compound can be prepared if Chromic Acid is reacted with Hydrochloric Acid, too.
Now we had this in the Polychromate video already. Chromic acid is a tetrahedron having two Cr-O bonds and two Cr-OH bonds. Back then we added acid to form a Cr-O-Cr bond. But what if we dont have the H(+) acting here but the Cl(-) ? The Cl(-) could substitute the OH(-)
Cr-OH + HCl to Cr-Cl + H2O. this happens to both of the Cr-OH groups forming the CrO2Cl2. Now the water reacts with this compound so the would would have to be captured here. One way to do this is using conc. H2SO4 which is strongly hygroscopic. And the HCl can be substituted by NaCl for example to reduce the amount of water even more. And we showed that Chromic acid forms if Chromates meet Acids, so the setup can be reduced to having a Dichromate or Chromate, a Chloride salt and some conc. H2SO4.")
](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qzjkOAttUHw/mqdefault.jpg "Bismuth Chemistry: [Bi(SCN)6](3-)
If Thiocyanate is added to a Bismuth(III) solution the color will change to yellow upon the formation of [Bi(SCN)6](3-).")
