Tamu Chem 112 Experiment 19 Abstract

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(Exp 19) Identifying Transition Metals using Spot Tests and Chromatography Shannon Reilly*, Jessica Bissett, Alex Calderon, Lauren Oliver, Andrey Prosvirin (T.A.) Chemistry 112 – 513, Texas A&M University, Spring 2015 Introduction Environmentalists and scientists alike are concerned about the amount of metals and metal-containing compounds that are accumulating in the soil due industrial manufacturing. These metals, unlike organic materials, are not biodegradable, and require chemical remediation. Comparing several unknown chemical solutions to specific behaviors in various environments led to the identification of each solution; paper chromatography was then used to identify the unknown based on colors and retention factors. Materials & Methods Identifying the unknown compound solution (#2314) first required the identification of each individual solution. One drop of each solution was added to five individual wells of a spot plate. Next, three drops of 3M hydrochloric acid (to be referred to from now on as HCl). The spot plate was then cleaned, and the procedure above was recreated two more times, the second test done by adding 3M ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH), and the third by adding 1 drop of dimethylglyoxime (DMG). All color observations were recorded and compared to the known behaviors of the focus metals. The next step to identifying the unknown compound solution involved chromatography. Two 20 x 10 cm pieces of chromatography paper were obtained, both labeled six times: five for each individual metal sample and one for the unknown sample. A capillary tube was then used to spot all samples onto their appropriate positions on both pieces of paper. Each paper was then rolled, stapled on the top to create a tube, and carefully placed into a 600mL beaker, one containing ~30mL of 6M HCl, the other containing ~30mL of 1.5M HCl. The
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