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Author: Subject: Tris(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) chloride
Pasrules
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[*] posted on 18-3-2015 at 19:21
Tris(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) chloride


Tris(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) chloride
[Co(en)3]Cl3 . 3H2O (mw:399.625)

Quick piece of theory
Cobalt(III) complexes are much more stable than cobalt(II) complexes so by first oxidizing the cobalt a greater yield of the major product is expected.

Untitled.jpg - 33kB

Chemicals:
Cobalt(II)chloride hexahydrate
30% H2O2
*30% ethylenediamine
*10M HCl
*5M HCl
95% EtOH
50% EtOH
*Diethyl ether
(* denotes kept in fumehood)

PPE:
Lab coat
Nitrile gloves
Splash goggles

Hazards:
Strong acids
Volatile chemicals
Strong oxidiser
Cobalt complex is harmful to the environment

Experimental:
Neutralise 30% ethylenediamine soln (15 cm3) with 5M hydrochloric acid (2.5 cm3). Add this soln to cobalt(II) chloride hexahydrate (6.0g) in water (20 cm3). Oxidise the coalt(II) complex by adding 30% hydrogen peroxide (5cm3) dropwise. Allow to stand for 10 minutes.

Transfer soln to an evaporating basin and place on a steam bath until crust forms on surface. Remove from steam bath and add 10M hydrochloric acid (5 cm3) and stir to break up lumps. Add ethanol (15 cm3) gradually while stirring.

Once cooled filter precipitate on Buchner funnel. Close vacuum and add wash solvent then open vacuum. First solvent 50% cold ethanol, second 95% ethanol, third diethyl ether. Place precipitate in desiccator for up to 48 hours.

Photo0027.jpg - 501kB

Result: 57.63% yield

Notes
1. Addition of H2O2 is exothermic and may cause spitting if added too rapidly.
2. Addition of 10M HCl formed a green precipitate assumed to be a chloride complex around the edge of the basin. This precipitate was avoided when transferring to Buckner funnel.
3. Leaving the vacuum on and pip-petting the wash solvents on dark impurities reduced product loss.

Characterization:
Column chromatography
Cation exchange (Sephadex resin)
First elution was an Orange-Red colour expected to be Bis(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) chloride as it has a crystal chare of +1
Second elution was a yellow colour expected to be Tris(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) chloride as it has a crystal charge of +3

UV-Vis


Scan0001.jpg - 330kB




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[*] posted on 19-3-2015 at 02:45


What is interesting in this synthesis is the need of acid. In the initial step you add acid to neutralize the ethylene diamine, but I think that this step is not for neutralizing the ethylene diamine, but to keep a buffer for the base, which is formed when H2O2 is acting as an oxidizer:

H2O2 + 2e --> 2OH(-)

These hydroxide ions interfere and would cause formation of a precipitate of cobaltous or cobaltic hydroxide/oxide and if some ethylene diammonium chloride is present, then this neutralizes the hydroxide ions. Lateron, when adding 10M HCl, apparently more of this compensation is needed.




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Justin Blaise
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[*] posted on 21-3-2015 at 22:42


Nice synthesis. You purified this by chromatography? If so, what solvent system and stationary phase?
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Pasrules
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[*] posted on 22-3-2015 at 16:46


The stationary phase was sephadex cation exchange resin and the mobile phase was 0.5M NaCl which was later replaced by 4M NaCl to elute. The chromatography was only used to obtain a sample for the UV-Vis.



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Pasrules
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[*] posted on 29-3-2015 at 16:05


Just need to make a correction.

The First elution would be dichlorobis(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) chloride




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[*] posted on 29-3-2015 at 21:49


Quote: Originally posted by Pasrules  
Just need to make a correction.

The First elution would be dichlorobis(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) chloride

The green isomer of that can be precipitated from solution with concentrated potassium or sodium nitrate solution. It's surprisingly poorly soluble, particularly compared to the purple isomer, or the tris en complex.




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