Kinetics- Visible Reactive Intermediate

Visible Reactive Intermediate

Description: A mixture of tartrate ion and hydrogen peroxide does not react, even at 70°C. Adding cobalt as a catalyst causes the reaction to proceed; the color of the mixture changes from pink to green, accompanied by considerable foam.

Source: Fun with Chemistry; A Guidebook of K-12 Activities Institute for Chemical Education Ed   by M. and J. Sarquis

Year: 1993   Vol: 2   Page: 253

Keywords: Kinetics, Cobalt, Tartrate, Hydrogen peroxide, Catalyst

Ratings:

Hazard: Medium

• Acute toxicity hazard
• Skin corrosion hazard
• Serious eye damage
• Inhalation hazard
• Electric shock hazard
• Burn hazard
• Scald hazard
• Aquatic toxicity
• Carcinogenicity hazard
• Reproductive toxicity hazard
• Dermal exposure hazard
• Specific organ toxicity – respiratory system

Effectiveness: Excellent

• Good connection from demo to course material
• Obvious contrast between behavior of systems
• Spectacular or counter intuitive effects are seen
• Time to results is low
• High reliability

Difficulty: Medium

• Some concerted manipulations
• Reactions of demos at non-standard conditions
• Reactions contain potential for the creation of hazardous conditions

Safety Precautions:

• Eye protection required
• Gloves required
• Thermal gloves required
• Use of UL approved three-prong plug and outlet
• Absorbent materials on hand
• Containment required
• Perform in a well-ventilated area
• Perform on a chemically resistant surface
• Avoid exposure to gases, mists or dusts
• Prevent release of reagents to the environment

Class: Catalysis, Kinetics

Division: General

Home