The ferric thiocyanate differs from the great majority of salts in that it is but very little dissociated in aqueous solutions, and the characteristic color appears to be occasioned by the formation of the un-ionized ferric salt.
The normal solution of pota.s.sium thiocyanate should contain an amount of the salt per liter of solution which would yield sufficient (CNS)^{-} to combine with one gram of hydrogen to form HCNS, i.e., a gram-molecular weight of the salt or 97.17 grams. If the ammonium thiocyanate is used, the amount is 76.08 grams. To prepare the solution for this determination, which should be approximately 0.05 N, dissolve about 5 grams of pota.s.sium thiocyanate, or 4 grams of ammonium thiocyanate, in a small amount of water; dilute this solution to 1000 cc. in a liter bottle and mix as usual.
Prepare 20 cc. of a saturated solution of ferric alum and add 5 cc. of dilute nitric acid (sp. gr. 1.20). About 5 cc. of this solution should be used as an indicator.
STANDARDIZATION
PROCEDURE.--Crush a small quant.i.ty of silver nitrate crystals in a mortar (Note 1). Transfer them to a watch-gla.s.s and dry them for an hour at 110C., protecting them from dust or other organic matter (Note 2). Weigh out two portions of about 0.5 gram each and dissolve them in 50 cc. of water. Add 10 cc. of dilute nitric acid which has been recently boiled to expel the lower oxides of nitrogen, if any, and then add 5 cc. of the indicator solution. Run in the thiocyanate solution from a burette, with constant stirring, allowing the precipitate to settle occasionally to obtain an exact recognition of the end-point, until a faint red tinge can be detected in the solution.
From the data obtained, calculate the relation of the thiocyanate solution to the normal.
[Note 1: The thiocyanate cannot be accurately weighed; its solutions must, therefore, be standardized against silver nitrate (or pure silver), either in the form of a standard solution or in small, weighed portions.]
[Note 2: The crystals of silver nitrate sometimes inclose water which is expelled on drying. If the nitrate has come into contact with organic bodies it suffers a reduction and blackens during the heating.
It is plain that a standard solution of silver nitrate (made by weighing out the crystals) is convenient or necessary if many t.i.trations of this nature are to be made. In the absence of such a solution the liability of pa.s.sing the end-point is lessened by setting aside a small fraction of the silver solution, to be added near the close of the t.i.tration.]
DETERMINATION OF SILVER IN COIN
PROCEDURE.-- Weigh out two portions of the coin of about 0.5 gram each. Dissolve them in 15 cc. of dilute nitric acid (sp. gr. 1.2) and boil until all the nitrous compounds are expelled (Note 1). Cool the solution, dilute to 50 cc., and add 5 cc. of the indicator solution, and t.i.trate with the thiocyanate to the appearance of the faint red coloration (Note 2).
From the corrected volume of the thiocyanate solution required, calculate the percentage of silver in the coin.
[Note 1: The reaction with silver may be carried out in nitric acid solutions and in the presence of copper, if the latter does not exceed 70 per cent. Above that percentage it is necessary to add silver in known quant.i.ty to the solution. The liquid must be cold at the time of t.i.tration and entirely free from nitrous compounds, as these sometimes cause a reddening of the indicator solution. All utensils, distilled water, the nitric acid and the beakers must be free from chlorides, as the presence of these will cause precipitation of silver chloride, thereby introducing an error.]
[Note 2: The solution containing the silver precipitate, as well as those from the standardization, should be placed in the receptacle for "silver residues" as a matter of economy.]
PART III
GRAVIMETRIC a.n.a.lYSIS
GENERAL DIRECTIONS
Gravimetric a.n.a.lyses involve the following princ.i.p.al steps: first, the weighing of the sample; second, the solution of the sample; third, the separation of some substance from solution containing, or bearing a definite relation to, the const.i.tuent to be measured, under conditions which render this separation as complete as possible; and finally, the segregation of that substance, commonly by filtration, and the determination of its weight, or that of some stable product formed from it on ignition. For example, the gravimetric determination of aluminium is accomplished by solution of the sample, by precipitation in the form of hydroxide, collection of the hydroxide upon a filter, complete removal by washing of all foreign soluble matter, and the burning of the filter and ignition of the precipitate to aluminium oxide, in which condition it is weighed.
Among the operations which are common to nearly all gravimetric a.n.a.lyses are precipitation, washing of precipitates, ignition of precipitates, and the use of desiccators. In order to avoid burdensome repet.i.tions in the descriptions of the various gravimetric procedures which follow, certain general instructions are introduced at this point. These instructions must, therefore, be considered to be as much a part of all subsequent procedures as the description of apparatus, reagents, or manipulations.
The a.n.a.lytical balance, the fundamentally important instrument in gravimetric a.n.a.lysis, has already been described on pages 11 to 15.
PRECIPITATION
For successful quant.i.tative precipitations those substances are selected which are least soluble under conditions which can be easily established, and which separate from solution in such a state that they can be filtered readily and washed free from admixed material.
In general, the substances selected are the same as those already familiar to the student of Qualitative a.n.a.lysis.
When possible, substances are selected which separate in crystalline form, since such substances are less likely to clog the pores of filter paper and can be most quickly washed. In order to increase the size of the crystals, which further promotes filtration and washing, it is often desirable to allow a precipitate to remain for some time in contact with the solution from which it has separated. The solution is often kept warm during this period of "digestion." The small crystals gradually disappear and the larger crystals increase in size, probably as the result of the force known as surface tension, which tends to reduce the surface of a given ma.s.s of material to a minimum, combined with a very slightly greater solubility of small crystals as compared with the larger ones.
Amorphous substances, such as ferric hydroxide, aluminium hydroxide, or silicic acid, separate in a gelatinous form and are relatively difficult to filter and wash. Substances of this cla.s.s also exhibit a tendency to form, with pure water, what are known as colloidal solutions. To prevent this as far as possible, they are washed with solutions of volatile salts, as will be described in some of the following procedures.
In all precipitations the reagent should be added slowly, with constant stirring, and should be hot when circ.u.mstances permit.
The slow addition is less likely to occasion contamination of the precipitate by the inclosure of other substances which may be in the solution, or of the reagent itself.
FUNNELS AND FILTERS
Filtration in a.n.a.lytical processes is most commonly effected through paper filters. In special cases these may be advantageously replaced by an asbestos filter in a perforated porcelain or platinum crucible, commonly known, from its originator, as a "Gooch filter." The operation and use of a filter of this type is described on page 103.
Porous crucibles of a material known as alundum may also be employed to advantage in special cases.
The gla.s.s funnels selected for use with paper filters should have an angle as near 60 as possible, and a narrow stem about six inches in length. The filters employed should be washed filters, i.e., those which have been treated with hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids, and which on incineration leave a very small and definitely known weight of ash, generally about .00003 gram. Such filters are readily obtainable on the market.
The filter should be carefully folded to fit the funnel according to either of the two well-established methods described in the Appendix.
It should always be placed so that the upper edge of the paper is about one fourth inch below the top of the funnel. Under no circ.u.mstances should the filter extend above the edge of the funnel, as it is then utterly impossible to effect complete washing.
To test the efficiency of the filter, fill it with distilled water.
This water should soon fill the stem completely, forming a continuous column of liquid which, by its hydrostatic pressure, produces a gentle suction, thus materially promoting the rapidity of filtration. Unless the filter allows free pa.s.sage of water under these conditions, it is likely to give much trouble when a precipitate is placed upon it.
The use of a suction pump to promote filtration is rarely altogether advantageous in quant.i.tative a.n.a.lysis, if paper filters are employed.
The tendency of the filter to break, unless the point of the filter paper is supported by a perforated porcelain cone or a small "hardened filter" of parchment, and the tendency of the precipitates to pa.s.s through the pores of the filter, more than compensate for the possible gain in time. On the other hand, filtration by suction may be useful in the case of precipitates which do not require ignition before weighing, or in the case of precipitates which are to be discarded without weighing. This is best accomplished with the aid of the special apparatus called a Gooch filter referred to above.
FILTRATION AND WASHING OF PRECIPITATES
Solutions should be filtered while hot, as far as possible, since the pa.s.sage of a liquid through the pores of a filter is r.e.t.a.r.ded by friction, and this, for water at 100C., is less than one sixth of the resistance at 0C.
When the filtrate is received in a beaker, the stem of the funnel should touch the side of the receiving vessel to avoid loss by spattering. Neglect of this precaution is a frequent source of error.
The vessels which contain the initial filtrate should !always! be replaced by clean ones, properly labeled, before the washing of a precipitate begins. In many instances a finely divided precipitate which shows no tendency to pa.s.s through the filter at first, while the solution is relatively dense, appears at once in the washings. Under such conditions the advantages accruing from the removal of the first filtrate are obvious, both as regards the diminished volume requiring refiltration, and also the smaller number of washings subsequently required.
Much time may often be saved by washing precipitates by decantation, i.e., by pouring over them, while still in the original vessel, considerable volumes of wash-water and allowing them to settle. The supernatant, clear wash-water is then decanted through the filter, so far as practicable without disturbing the precipitate, and a new portion of wash-water is added. This procedure can be employed to special advantage with gelatinous precipitates, which fill up the pores of the filter paper. As the medium from which the precipitate is to settle becomes less dense it subsides less readily, and it ultimately becomes necessary to transfer it to the filter and complete the washing there.
A precipitate should never completely fill a filter. The wash-water should be applied at the top of the filter, above the precipitate.
It may be shown mathematically that the washing is most !rapidly!
accomplished by filling the filter well to the top with wash-water each time, and allowing it to drain completely after each addition; but that when a precipitate is to be washed with the !least possible volume! of liquid the latter should be applied in repeated !small!
quant.i.ties.
Gelatinous precipitates should not be allowed to dry before complete removal of foreign matter is effected. They are likely to shrink and crack, and subsequent additions of wash-water pa.s.s through these channels only.
All filtrates and wash-waters without exception must be properly tested. !This lies at the foundation of accurate work!, and the student should clearly understand that it is only by the invariable application of this rule that a.s.surance of ultimate reliability can be secured. Every original filtrate must be tested to prove complete precipitation of the compound to be separated, and the wash-waters must also be tested to a.s.sure complete removal of foreign material. In testing the latter, the amount first taken should be but a few drops if the filtrate contains material which is to be subsequently determined. When, however, the washing of the filter and precipitate is nearly completed the amount should be increased, and for the final test not less than 3 cc. should be used.