smaerd
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Zinc Gluconate ->Zinc Lil help?
Okay so zinc gluconate is in most zinc tablets/vitamins.
I know a little about this. I know it's an ionic bond and that it's the zinc salt of gluconic acid. Remember I'm a total chemistry noob so try not to
be too harsh.
I want to figure out a way to break this ionic bond and have zinc precipitate. Here's what I am thinking.
Zinc Gluconate(s) + H2O(aq) + Na2CO3(aq) -> Zinc(ppt) + H2O(aq) + Na2CO3(aq) + Gluconic Acid(aq)
The problem with zincs solubility in water is at ph 11 it becomes more soluble and at lower acidic ph's it is also soluble. So you can't basify too
much with something such as NaOH, that's why the Sodium Carbonate is used.
Anyone have any input or other ideas? if this is a repeat thread lemme know.
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bbartlog
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This won't work. Assuming gluconic acid is strong enough, you would get sodium gluconate and zinc carbonate; failing that no reaction would take
place.
While zinc is not an alkali metal it's still not so trivial to reduce it chemically. Pretty sure that zinc powder, dust etc. are produced mechanically
from the solid. And even if you could get elemental zinc from the gluconate, it is surely not economical.
I don't know what your actual goal here is, that is, why you want finely divided zinc, and how much of it, and what particle size you are aiming for.
However, post-1982 US pennies are a fine source of elemental zinc; you just have to remove the copper coating somehow. Melting out the zinc after
grinding small holes in the copper works, assuming you can manage temperatures over 420C. Pulverizing it would depend on your facilities; filing,
grinding with a bench grinder, ball milling at elevated temperatures, or atomizing the molten zinc with pressurized gas all work, roughly in ascending
order of equipment complexity.
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ScienceSquirrel
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Zinc sheet is widely available from hardware shops etc as it is used in roofing, waterproofing, covering bars etc.
It is cheap, at least reagent grade purity and I have used small pieces to make chromium II acetate etc very successfully.
Zinc powder or dust is widely available as well.
[Edited on 28-1-2010 by ScienceSquirrel]
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smaerd
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Awe okay, I figured it wouldn't be so easy. I forgot how strong ionic bonds were, I am only aware of salts of alkaloids so I figured maybe it was
similar, doh, haha.
Pretty much I just wanted zinc for a reduction reaction to remove the oxidization of an alkaloid. So I figured hey if I have zinc tablets maybe this
could save me from ordering some. I'll have to look into zinc sheets that sounds economical and widely available.
Thanks for all the information.
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