Noah Green

Kristina Jessen
2038 005
Spring 2023
Introduction:
Compounds in our world have a massive variety of compounds and energies that allow
for varied and interesting reactions. This is apparent when looking at the formation of
coordination compounds from transitional metals. The compounds are called “coordination
compounds” because they contain a coordinate covalent bond, where both shared electrons in the
compound are donated by one of the bonded atoms. Synthesis between the various compounds of
the world are another field that is frequently studied, and many tools are at the hands of scientists
to determine how these reactions unfold. One such tool is the calculation of a synthesis’s
efficiency, or percent yield, which is calculated with the equation:
𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 ( 𝑔 )
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑= × 100
𝑡h𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑦𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 ( 𝑔 )
Another tool is the use of vacuum filtration, where a vacuum is used to pull liquid through a
filter/filter paper with more force. It is faster than other methods of filtration and is used in the
event that the solid is to be kept or if the solid has very fine grains.
Procedure:
First, 2 g of anhydrous copper (II) sulfate are weighed out and recorded in a notebook. The
sulfate is then dissolved in 10 mL of DI water within a 100 mL beaker. If needed, the solution
can be warmed, and the observations are recorded. Then, under a fume hood, 3.39 mL of
ammonia are added to the solution and observations are recorded. Afterwards, 20 mL of 95%
ethanol is added to the solution while stirring. The beaker is then placed in ice for around 10-15
minutes. Then the equipment for vacuum filtration is obtained, this being a side-arm flask, a
Buchner funnel, a disposable pipet, clamp, filter paper, ring stand, and vacuum tubing. The
beaker is then clamped into a ring stand. The filter paper is massed out and recorded, then placed
over the holes of the Buchner funnel and moistened with a couple drops of water. The vacuum
filtration process is then assembled, with the tubing being attached between the flask and house
vacuum and the house vacuum valve is opened. After, the cold solution and precipitate is poured
into the funnel. After it has all been vacuumed through, about 5 mL of ethanol is poured in to
rinse any remaining precipitate out. The precipitate in the funnel is then rinsed out with 5 mL of
acetone twice. After the second rinse, let the suction continue for a couple more minutes, and
then take the solid product and put it on some notebook paper and break it into lumps with a little
rod and let it dry and record any observations. Weigh the dried product. Then, in each of three
clean test tubes, put a tiny, spatula-tip amount of the solution. Then in those tubes, but about
1mL of DI water in one, 1 mL of ethanol in one, and in the last put 1 mL of acetone. Then shake
the tubes and determine the solubility of the solution, either soluble, partially, or not. Then add 1
mL of diluted hydrochloric acid to the tube with water.
Noah Green
Kristina Jessen
2038 005
Spring 2023

Results; Reactions:
2−
2+¿ ( 𝑎𝑞 ) +𝑆 𝑂4 ( 𝑎𝑞 ) ¿
𝐶𝑢𝑆 𝑂 4 ( 𝑎𝑞 ) →𝐶 𝑢
2+ ¿ (𝑎𝑞 )¿
2+¿ ( 𝑎𝑞) +4 𝑁 𝐻 3 ( 𝑎𝑞) → [ 𝐶𝑢 ( 𝑁 𝐻 3)4 ] ¿
𝐶𝑢
2+ ¿ ( 𝑎𝑞 ) +𝑆 𝑂4 ( 𝑎𝑞) + 𝐻 2 𝑂 ( 𝑙 ) → [ 𝐶𝑢 ( 𝑁 𝐻 3)4 ] 𝑆 𝑂4 ( 𝑎𝑞 ) ⋅ 𝐻 2 𝑂 ( 𝑠 ) ¿
2−

[ 𝐶𝑢 ( 𝑁 𝐻 3) 4 ]

Table 1: Synthesis data summary for [ 𝐶𝑢 ( 𝑁 𝐻 3) 4 ] 𝑆 𝑂 4 ( 𝑎𝑞 ) ⋅ 𝐻 2 𝑂 ( 𝑠 )

Mass of
CuSO4 Moles of Theoretical moles Theoretical mass of Actual mass of Percent yield
used, g CuSO4 (mol) of product (mol) product (g) product (g) (%)
2 0.0125 2 159.6 2.529 1.58

Table 2: Solubility and observations of Water, Ethanol, Acetone, and HCl

Test Tube Solvent Observations

1 Water It was soluble. Was a deep blue color

Was not soluble. When added,

mixed into a blue color, but
separated soon after
2 Ethanol

Was not soluble. When added,

3 Acetone mixed into a blue color, but
separated soon after
 Was partially soluble. When added
1 Acid caused the previously deep blue to
become almost transparent

Noah Green
Kristina Jessen
2038 005
Spring 2023

Questions:
1. One reason the solution is washed in acetone is because it is a good drying agent. Both
water and ethanol are soluble with it, so when the solution is washed with acetone, it will
pick up any residue from either of those two compounds. It also dissolves quickly, so it
won’t affect the mass and yield calculations.
2. When washing with acetone, the first and second wash make sure that as little residue is
left behind in the funnel as possible. If there is residue left, then the percent yield would
be lower, because the actual yield would be smaller, creating a smaller percent yield. The
fact that it is fast drying also ensures that no acetone is left over to affect the percent yield
calculations. If it didn’t dry fast, then it would make the percent yield higher, because the
actual yield would be higher, with the added mass of the acetone.
3. If the filtrate was blue, it implied that some of the solid product found it’s way around the
filter paper and ended up being vacuumed into the filtrate. This would make the percent
yield lower, because some of the actual yield was pulled in with the filtrate and was thus,
not counted.