Preparation of Salts

Is this assault?

What are salts?

In a acid-base reaction, a salt is formed when
a metallic ion or an ammonium ion replaces
one or more hydrogen ions in an acid.
E.g.
Zinc hydroxide + sulfuric acid zinc sulfate + water
Zn(OH)2 (s) + H2SO4 (aq) ZnSO4 (aq) + H20 (l)
Zn2+ comes from
the base, Zn(OH)2

ZnSO4

SO42- comes from

sulfuric acid, H2SO4

Preparing Salts in the Laboratory

Two factors to consider

Is the salt soluble in water?

Are the starting materials soluble in water?

Solubility Ta

Soluble Salts

Insoluble Salts

All Sodium
All Potassium
All Ammonium
All Nitrates
All Chlorides

except

Lead(II)
Silver

except

Barium
Calcium
Lead

All Sulfates

Potassium
Sodium
Ammonium

except

All Carbonates

Potassium
Sodium
Ammonium

except

Hydroxides and Oxides

Methods of preparing salts

Is the salt to be prepared soluble in
water?

Yes
Reaction with acids
Acid + metal
Acid + base
Acid + carbonate

Yes

No
3) Precipitation

Is the starting material

for making the salt
soluble in water?

Titration method
Acid + alkali solution
Acid + carbonate solution

Salt solution

No

Reaction with acids

Acid + excess metal *
Acid + excess insoluble base
Acid + insoluble carbonate

1.
2.
3.

Concentrating
Crystallizing
Filtering

Salt crystals
(dry with filter paper)

Preparation of insoluble salts

All insoluble salts can be prepared by

precipitation.

Precipitation
Aqueous solutions of two suitable soluble
salts are mixed.
Eg. Prepare lead(II) sulfate
Pb2+

comes from
soluble lead(II) salt

PbSO4

SO42- comes from

sulfuric acid, H2SO4 or
any soluble sulfate

The insoluble salt appears as a precipitate and

can be obtained by filtration.

Making PbSO4
Preparation, Separation and Purification

Methods of preparing salts

Is the salt to be prepared soluble in
water?

Yes
Reaction with acids
Acid + metal
Acid + base
Acid + carbonate

Yes

No
3) Precipitation

Is the starting material

for making the salt
soluble in water?

Titration method
Acid + alkali solution
Acid + carbonate solution

No

Reaction with acids with insoluble substances

Acid + excess metal *
Acid + excess insoluble base
1. Concentrating
Acid + insoluble carbonate
2.
3.

Salt solution

Crystallizing
Filtering

Salt crystals
(dry with filter paper)

Preparation of soluble salts

1. We react the acid
with an excess of the
substance (MCB).

Reason:
This ensures that all the
acid is used up.
The reaction is complete.

2. The substance
(MCB) must also be
insoluble in water.

Reason:
This allows the excess
(unreacted) substance
to be filtered from the
salt solution produced.

Preparing a soluble salt:

Reacting acid with insoluble metal
E.g. Prepare zinc sulfate
1. Think of the relevant starting materials.
Zn2+ comes from
the metal, Zn

ZnSO4

SO42- comes from

sulfuric acid, H2SO4

Zinc + Sulfuric acid Zinc Sulfate + Hydrogen

Zn(s) + H2SO4(aq) ZnSO4(aq) + H2(g)

Making ZnSO4
To ensure that the sulfuric acid
is completely used up (Why?)

Salts
combine
with water
molecules
to form
crystals

By heating to dryness, ZnSO4 will lose

its water of crystallisation

To ensure that
the unreacted
zinc does not
contaminate the
salt formed

Making ZnSO4
Preparation, Separation and Purification

Making ZnSO4
Preparation, Separation and Purification

Reacting acid with insoluble metal

Potassium
Sodium
Calcium

It is not suitable for reactive metals such as

potassium, sodium and calcium. They react
violently with acids.

Magnesium*
Aluminium* This method is suitable for moderately
reactive metals such as magnesium,
Zinc*
Iron
aluminium, zinc, iron and lead.
Lead
Copper
Silver

It is not suitable for unreactive metals such as copper

and silver. These metals do not react with dilute acids.

Methods of preparing salts

Is the salt to be prepared soluble in
water?

Yes
Reaction with acids
Acid + metal
Acid + base
Acid + carbonate

Yes

No
3) Precipitation

Is the starting material

for making the salt
soluble in water?

Titration method
Acid + alkali solution
Acid + carbonate solution

No

Reaction with acids with insoluble substances

Acid + excess metal *
Acid + excess insoluble base
1. Concentrating
Acid + insoluble carbonate
2.
3.

Salt solution

Crystallizing
Filtering

Salt crystals
(dry with filter paper)

Preparing a soluble salt:

Reacting acid with insoluble base
E.g. Prepare copper sulfate
1. Think of the relevant starting materials.
Cu2+ comes from
SO42- comes from
the insoluble base
4 sulfuric acid, H2SO4

CuSO

Copper(II) oxide + Sulfuric acid Copper (II) Sulfate + Water

CuO(s) + H2SO4(aq) CuSO4(aq) + H2O(l)

Making CuSO4
To ensure that the
sulfuric acid is
completely used up
(Why?)

By heating to dryness,
CuSO4 will lose its
water of crystallisation.

To ensure that the

unreacted CuO does
not contaminate the
salt formed

Think!
In the making of copper(II) sulfate, why is
copper not used to react with sulfuric acid?

This method is used to prepare metal salts

whose metal is not too reactive.

Methods of preparing salts

Is the salt to be prepared soluble in
water?

Yes
Reaction with acids
Acid + metal
Acid + base
Acid + carbonate

Yes

No
3) Precipitation

Is the starting material

for making the salt
soluble in water?

Titration method
Acid + alkali solution
Acid + carbonate solution

No

Reaction with acids with insoluble substances

Acid + excess metal *
Acid + excess insoluble base
1. Concentrating
Acid + insoluble carbonate
2.
3.

Salt solution

Crystallizing
Filtering

Salt crystals
(dry with filter paper)

Think!
In the preparation of soluble salt, what
happens if the solid reactant is soluble
in water?
How can we tell if the acid has completely
neutralised?
We use the method TITRATION!
Use of indicator help identify that the acid has
been completely used up.

Titration
Suitable for preparing sodium, potassium,
ammonium salts. (Why?)
Find your end point with the help of a
suitable indicator then repeat experiment
without indicator to get a pure salt sample.

So, what have you learnt?