.

IDENTIFICATION OF CATIONS

Preliminary Tests certain cations

the presence or
ne
preliminary and confirmatory tests for anions may indicate and identfication
the separation
(-8.Cr. Mn"). This information should bec kept in mind when
is attempted. The preliminary test can be divided into:
ofcautions
Physical appearance
ii. Action of heat
ii. Flame test
1. PhysicalAppearance
The following ions can be detected from the colour ofthe sample.

Colour nterference
Zn, Pb"
a White even when moistened K", Na, Ca,Mg,AI",
substances below
NH4, Absence of all
b Blue/Violet Cu, Cr*
Green Fe,Cu, NI",C*
d Yellow Fe,PbO_
Red/Pink/Crimson or orange Mn, Fe03, HgO, Pb;O4 _
f Black CuO, MnO2, Fe;O4 *

Le | Brown AgO2, PbO2 MnCO3, Fe

2. Action of Heat
Heat 2 spatula load of the substance in a dry ignitiontube. This is not a conclusire lest.

LObservation Inference
Sublimation
a NH salt
bDecrpitation (Spittingand cracking)_ Pb(NO2, NaCI
C Yellow when hot, white when cold Zincsalt
d Ammonia evolved NH
3. Flame Test
Clean platinum wire/spatula with conc. HC. Then heat the substance on the moistened
Bunsen burner.
spatula with clean acid using a
Flame Colour Inference
Persistent yellow NH
Lilac (Crimsonthrough cobalt glass) K
Brick Ca
Persistent light green Ba
Green with blue centre or bluish green Cu
Livid blue Pb
Confirmatory Tests
First find the possible solvent for the sample. Try thisorder
a. Cold water (then hot)
Cold dil. HCI (then hot)
C. Conc. Hcl
d. Dil. HNO,
Ain Reoia (heating with conc. HCl and addinga few drops of conc.
HNOJ
48
When you are sure of
which solvent dissolves
salt un your sample, dissolve a reasonable amount or uic
given a
reasonable amount of
this solvent for the
on the different solubilities of
the various salts in
analysis. Cations are separated depenain8
from this solution by addition of aqueous solution. The cations are precipitatec
suitable reagents under carefully controlled conditions. 1he
conditions are (i) dil. HCI (i) NaOH
(ii) NH,OH (iv)H,S
Using dil. HCI
Add dil. HCI to the solution of the substance and cool.
be
If a white precipitate is formed, Pb, Hg or
Ag may present. If the
precipitatc dissolves on beating and precipitates on cooling. Pb is
present

ii. Using NaOH

This involves the
precipitation ofhydroxides of the cations. To the solution of the substance, add
NaOH in drops until it is in excess

Observation Inference
A.White ppt. soluble in excess NaOH Zn" or Pb, Al*
B. White ppt. insoluble in excess NaOH Mg, Ca
C White ppt. which turns dirty brown on exposure to air
D. Green ppt. insoluble in excess NaOHA Mni
Fe
E Brown ppt. insoluble in exces NaOH Fe3
F Blue ppt. insoluble in excess NaOH Cu
Gr NOViSible peaction or NO
PPt ia
ii. UsingNH,OH eitess ta®4 K, Na, Nh
This also involves the precipitation of the cation hydroxides. To the solution of the
substance add
NHOH dropwise until it is in excess

Observation Inference
a. White ppt. soluble in excess Z
. White chalky ppt. insolublein excess Pb
White gelatinous ppt.insoluble in excess |A*
d.Green ppt. insolublein excess Fe
e.rowm ppt. insoluble in excess Fe
Ble ppt. insoluble in excess forming adeep blue solution Cu4
LNo ppt Ca &NH
iv. Using H,S
Selective precipitation can be controlled by the medium. In acid medium, CuS and PbS are
precipitated. In Alkaline medium, Zns,Al,S,MnS and FeS are precipitated
a. To solution of the substance, add dil. HCI and pass
a H,S gas. A black/dark brown ppt.
indicates Cuor Pb
b. Pass H,S gas to a neutral/alkaline (by adding ammonia solution) solution ofthe substance

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