In: Chemistry
Answer the following questions regarding the synthesis and analysis of a Nickel coordination compound
a. Why is it necessary to wash the filtered Ni(NH3)nCl2 crystals with concentrated NH3?
b. What method is used to determine the amount of NH3 in the coordination compound?
c. What method is used to determine the amount of Ni2+ in the coordination compound?
d. Calculate the absorbance of a sample with a %T of 3.98.
e. What is the concentration of Ni2+ in an unknown sample whose absorbance is 0.45 if a standard solution of 2M Ni2+ had an absorbance of 0.3?
b) Volumetric analysis of NH3
Volumetric analysis measures liquid volumes to determine the quantitative amount of a dissolved substance in solution. In this experiment, the sample was titrated with NaOH – which was previously standardized with known concentration of HCl. This allowed the number of ammonia ligands coordinated to the nickel metal to be determined. Standardisation of sodium hydroxide solution is required as NaOH reacts with atmospheric carbon dioxide, thereby affecting its concentration.
c) Spectrophotometric analysis of nickel
One of the most common applications of spectrophotometry is to determine the concentration of an analyte in a solution. This experimental approach requires Beer's Law, which predicts a linear relationship between the absorbance of the solution and the concentration of the analyte (assuming all other experimental parameters do not vary).
A solution of the synthesized compound was scanned from 330 to 800nm and its maximum absorbance wave is 394.00nm.
Then, 3 standard solutions with accurately known concentration were prepared. The absorbances of the standard solutions were measured to prepare a calibration curve that indicates how absorbance varies with concentration. By carrying out the calibration at maximum absorbance wavelength, this allows the absorbance to be amplified and result in a more accurate calibration graph. The concentration of nickel (II) ions was then determined by reading from the calibration graph representing the 3 standard solutions.