Salts and Hydrates

Definition
• Hydrates are compounds that incorporate water
molecules into their fundamental solid structure. In
a hydrate (which usually has a specific crystalline
form), a defined number of water molecules are
associated with each formula unit of the primary
material.
• Hydration of drugs (pharmaceutical hydrates)
influences the solubility, dissolution rate, stability,
and bioavailability.
Nomenclature
• Hydrates generally contain water in stoichiometric
amounts; hydrates’ formulae are represented using
the formula of the anhydrous (non-water)
component of the complex followed by a dot then
the water (H2O) preceded by a number
corresponding to the ratio of H2O moles per mole
of the anhydrous component present.
• Nomenclature: Name of the anhydrous component
+ Greek prefix specifying the number of moles of
water present then the word hydrate.
• MgSO4⋅7H2O: magnesium sulfate heptahydrate
Nomenclature
• mercury(II) nitrate monohydrate: Hg(NO3)2•H2O
• copper(II) chloride dihydrate: CuCl2•2H2O
• lead(II) acetate trihydrate: (CH3CO2)2Pb•3H2O
• iron(II) fluoride tetrahydrate: FeF2•4H2O
• tin(IV) chloride pentahydrate: SnCl4•5H2O
• magnesium nitrate hexahydrate: Mg(NO3)2•6H2O
• barium hydroxide octahydrate: Ba(OH)2•8H2O
Nomenclature
• Gypsum is a hydrate with two water molecules
present for every formula unit of CaSO4. The
chemical formula for gypsum is CaSO4 • 2H2O and
the chemical name is calcium sulfate dihydrate.
Note that the dot in the formula (or multiplication
sign) indicates that the waters are there.
• Other examples of hydrates are: lithium perchlorate
trihydrate - LiClO4 • 3H2O; magnesium carbonate
pentahydrate - MgCO3 • 5H2O; and copper(II)
sulfate pentahydrate - CuSO4• 5 H2O.
Terminologies
• Anhydrous- A substance that does not contain any water.
• Hygroscopic- a substance that readily attracts water from its
surroundings (air), through either absorption or adsorption.
• Hydrate- a substance that contains water.
• Desiccant- a hygroscopic substance that absorb moisture
from air either by physical adsorption or by chemical
reaction.
• Deliquescent- a substance having the property to absorb
water from the air to dissolve itself and form an aqueous
solution.
• Efflorescent- a chemical which has water associated with its
molecules, and which, when exposed to air, loses this water
through evaporation.
Determining water in a hydrate
• The water in the hydrate (referred to as "water of
hydration") can be removed by heating the hydrate. When
all hydrating water is removed, the material is said to be
anhydrous and is referred to as an anhydrate.
• CuSO4• 5 H2O(s) + HEAT ---> CuSO4 (s) + 5 H2O (g)
hydrate anhydrate
• Experimentally measuring the percent water in a hydrate
involves first heating a known mass of the hydrate to
remove the waters of hydration and then measuring the
mass of the anhydrate remaining. The difference between
the two masses is the mass of water lost. Dividing the mass
of the water lost by the original mass of hydrate used is
equal to the fraction of water in the compound. Multiplying
this fraction by 100 gives the percent water.
Determining water in a hydrate
• EXAMPLE 1
When a 1.000 g sample of CuSO4• 5 H2O(s) was heated so
that the waters of hydration were driven off, the mass of the
anhydrous salt remaining was found to be 0.6390 g. What is
the experimental value of the percent water of hydration?
CuSO4• 5 H2O(s) + HEAT ----> CuSO4 (s) + 5 H2O (g)
1.000 g 0.6390 g
1. The difference between the hydrate mass and anhydrate
mass is the mass of water lost.
1.000 g - 0.6390 g = 0.3610 g
2. Divide the mass of the water lost by the mass of hydrate
and multiply by 100.
(0.3610 g /1.000 g)(100) = 36.10%