An examination of some methods employed in determining the atomic weight of Cadmium — John Shaqi
An examination of some methods employed in determining the atomic weight of CadmiumBucher, John Emery
History
An examination of some methods employed in determining the atomic weight of Cadmium
Bucher, John Emery
Cadmium; Thesis (Ph. D.)
A large quantity of hydrobromic acid was prepared according to the
method described by Dr. Edward R. Squibb (Trans. of Med. Soc. of the
State of N. Y.). One part of water was added to seven parts of strong
sulphuric acid (Sp. Gr. = 1.83) and the mixture cooled. Then six parts
of potassium bromide were dissolved in six parts of hot water and the
diluted sulphuric acid added to this hot solution. It was set aside
until cold in order to allow the sulphate of potassium to crystallize
out. The crystals were drained on a filter-plate and quickly washed with
two parts of water. The mother-liquor and washing were then distilled
until no more acid was obtained on further heating. The acid thus
obtained was distilled three times from potassium bromide, twice from
cadmium bromide formed by adding a piece of pure cadmium to it, and
twice without the addition of anything. It was tested and found to be
free from sulphuric acid. Cadmium bromide was prepared from it, in
exactly the same way that the cadmium chloride used in the chloride
method was prepared from pure metal and hydrochloric acid. While the
crystalline mass of cadmium bromide was still moist, it was transferred
to a combination tube and dried at 300°C for several hours in a current
of nitrogen. It was then sublimed in a vacuum as the chloride had been.
This specimen served for the first three determinations. About nine
grammes of it was placed in a platinum boat in a combustion tube, and
part of it distilled in a current of nitrogen. The distillate, a portion
of which had been tested with tropaeolin and found neutral, was used for
determination I. The residue in the boat was used for determination II.
Another portion of the main sample was resublimed in a vacuum and used
in determination no. III. Cadmium bromide is not hygroscopic or at least
only slightly, therefore the sublimed cadmium bromide can be transferred
to a weighing-glass without taking up water. This cannot be done in the
case of the chloride. It is probable that the hydrobromic acid as above
prepared was perfectly free from hydrochloric acid. Chlorine in cadmium
bromide would cause the atomic weight to be found lower than it really
is. It was thought desirable, however, to prepare an acid which would
certainly be free from chlorine. The method described by Stas
(Aronstein’s German translation, p. 154.) was employed with the
additional precaution that the above purified acid was used to start
with and all reagents employed had been especially prepared so as to be
free from chlorine. Pure silver was prepared according to Stas’
description (see Aronstein’s translation, page 34, also page 104) by the
action of ammonium sulphite on an ammoniacal solution of silver nitrate
and copper sulphate. The silver was dissolved in nitric acid free from
chlorine, and then slowly added to a dilute solution of the
above-described hydrobromic acid, and the precipitated silver bromide
thoroughly washed. It was then digested for a long while in a strong
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