The Chemical Educator
ISSN: 1430-4171 (electronic version)
Table of
Contents
Abstract Volume 24
(2019) pp 27-29
Synthesis of Solvatochromic Copper(II) Complex and
Determination of the Donor Numbers of Polar Solvents
Ryo Horikoshi
Department of Environmental Technology, Faculty of Design Technology, Osaka Sangyo University, Nakagaito, Daito, Osaka 574-8530, Japan, ryo.horikoshi@est.osaka-sandai.ac.jp
Received October 25, 2018. Accepted December 26, 2019.
Published: 18 January
2019
Abstract. This
article describes a simple undergraduate laboratory experiment in which
students prepared and analyzed the solvatochromic mixed ligand copper(II) complex
of acetylacetonate with 1,10-phenanthroline and tetraphenylborate. The complex
was synthesized using low-odor acetylacetonate and
odorless 1,10-phenanthroline ligands with equipment typically available in a
standard general chemistry laboratory. Depending on the polar organic solvents
used, the solutions of the complex exhibited a variety of colors ranging from
green via blue to violet. The solutions’ d–d absorption wavelengths correlated
well with the donor numbers of the solvents, thus facilitating students’
estimation of the unknown donor numbers of the solvents. Completing this experiment enhanced the
students’ understanding of the basic calculations in chemistry.
Key Words: Laboratories and Demonstrations; general chemistry; coordination compounds; mixed ligand copper(II) complexes; UV–Visible spectroscopy
(*) Corresponding author.
(E-mail: ryo.horikoshi@est.osaka-sandai.ac.jp)
Article
in PDF format (231 KB) HTML
format
Supporting Materials:
One PDF is
available which contains the student handout and instructors notes for the
experiment. (465 KB)
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