QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF IONS

Analysis of CATIONS
Group I (Ag+, Hg2 2+, Pb 2+)
- Precipitated as chlorides under strongly acidic solutions.
● Ag+ Silver Ion (Ag = Silver)
● Hg2 2+ Mercurous Ion (Hg = Mercury)
● Pb 2+ Lead (II) Ion (Pb = Lead)
Group II (Cu2+, Cd2+, Bi3+, Sn2+, Sn4+, Hg2+, Sb3+, Sb5+)
- Precipitated sulfides under mildly acidic conditions.
● Cu2+ Copper (II) Cation
● Cd2+ Cadmium Ion
● Bi3+ Bismuth Cation
● Sn2+ Tin Ion
● Sn4+ Innohep
● Hg2+ Mercuric Cation
● Sb3+ or Sb5+Antimony
Group III (Al3+, Zn2+, Cr3+, Fe2+, Fe3+, Ni2+, Co2+, Mn2+)
- Precipitated as sulfides of hydroxides under slightly basic conditions.
● Al3+ Aluminum Cation
● Zn2+ Zinc
● Cr3+ Chromium (III)
● Fe2+ Iron (II)
● Ni2+ Nickel (II) Ion
● Co2+ Cobalt (II) Ion or Cobaltous Ion
● Mn2+ Manganese (II) Ion
Group IV (Ba2+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na2+, K+, NH4+)
- Remain in solution after precipitation of group III cations.
● Ba2+ Barium Ion
● Ca2+ Calcium Ion
● Mg2+ Magnesium Ion
● Na2+ Sodium Ion
● K+ Potassium Ion
● NH4+ Ammonium
Analysis of ANIONS
Sulfate group (SO4 2-, CO3 2-, SO3 2-, PO4 3-, CrO4, C2O4-)
- Precipitated by Ba2+ ion in neutral solution.
Chloride group (Cl-, Br-, I-, SCN-, S2-)
- Precipitated by Ag+ ion in acidic solution.
Nitrate group (NO3-, NO2-, ClO3-, C2H3O2)
- Not easily precipitated.
Analysis of the Group I Cations (Ag+, Pb2+, H𝑔22+)
1. K2CrO4 - Potassium Dichromate(VI)
2. Acetic Acid
3. NH4OH -Ammonium Hydroxide
4. HCl - Hydrochloric acid
5. HNO3 - Nitric acid
6. PbCrO4 - formation of a yellow precipitate;presence of Lead.
7. Presence of the mercury (I) ion - a black or dark gray precipitate.
8. Ag(NH3)2+ - Silver(I) diammine cation
9. Litmus paper - to see if the solution is acidic or not
10. AgCl - Silver chloride; a white precipitate, confirms the presence of silver
11. Alternative Confirmation of the Presence of Silver
● If silver is present, a curdy, bluish-gray precipitate of AgCl
12. NH3 - Ammonia
Analysis of the Group II Cations (Cu2+,Bi3+,Hg2+,Cd2+,Sn2+ and Sn4+,Sb3+ and Sb5+)
I- Precipitation of the Group II cations
1. H2O2 - hydrogen peroxide
2. Thioacetamide (C2H5NS) - used as a substitute for Hydrogen Sulfide in the laboratory.
3. NaOH - sodium hydroxide
4. NaC2H3O2 - sodium acetate
5. Na2S2O4 - sodium dithionite
6. Centrifuge - used in laboratory to separate fluids, gases, or liquids based on density.
7. NH4Cl -ammonium chloride
8. H2SO4 - sulfuric acid
9. HgCl2 -Mercury(II) chloride
10. Kl - potassium iodide
11. Full set of Group II cations - the precipitate will be light blue, not blue-green
12. H2S - hydrogen sulfide
13. KCN - potassium cyanide
14. SnS2 - Tin(IV) sulfide
15. Sb2S3 - antimony trisulfide
16. The residue will typically be dark containing CuS, Bi2S3,PbS,CdS and HgS
17. HgS - Mercury(II) sulfide
18. If copper is present, the solution will turn blue.
19. A white precipitate in the solution is indicative of bismuth.
20. Cu(NH3)4 2+ - Tetraamminecopper(II) sulfate
21. Cd(NH3)4 2+ - Tetraamminecadmium(II)
22. Bi(OH)3 - Bismuth hydroxide
23. A white insoluble residue may contain lead.

II- Confirmation Test

G. Presence of Bismuth.
1. A white cloudiness caused by precipitation of BiOCL (Bismuth oxychloride)
➢ sample contains bismuth
➢ a white precipitate - Bi(OH)3 bismuth hydroxide
2. SnCl2 - Tin(II) Chloride
3. if bismuth is present, it will reduced to black metallic bismuth
H. Presence of Copper
1. copper must be present
➢ solution is blue
➢ Cu(NH3)4 2+
➢ sodium hydrosulfite
➢ reduction to reddish or black copper metal will occur
I. Presence of Cadmium
1. precipitation of yellow CdS (Cadmium sulfide) - if cadmium is present
2. dark precipitate, which is mainly HgS - Mercury (II) sulfide
K. Presence of Mercury
1. a shiny deposit of liquid mercury on the wire (copper wire)
2. KI - potassium iodide
3. red-orange precipitate of HgI2 - mercury(II) iodide

1. Acidic (pH on 0.5, green color on methyl violet)

2. precipitate forms may contain the sulfides of Sb (III) and Sn (IV)
N. Presence of Tin
1. production of H2 - hydrogen
2. Any tin present will be converted to Sn2+ and any antimony to the metal
➢ which will appear as black specks
➢ HgCl2 - mercuric chloride
 ➔ a white or gray cloudiness
➢ Hg2Cl2 -Mercury (I) chloride
➔ Presence of tin
O. Presence of Antimony
1. Oxalic acid - C2H2O4
➔ Converts most insoluble iron compounds into a soluble complex ion
➢ Precipitation of red-orange Sb2s3
➔ confirms the presence of antimony