FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS SULTAN IDRIS

EDUCATION UNIVERSITY

INTRODUCTION TO INORGANIC CHEMISTRY

(SKT 1013)

EXPERIMENT 2
A STUDY OF COPPER (II) COMPLEXES WITH DIFFERENT LIGANDS

LECTURER’S NAME
PROFESOR MADYA DR. NORHAYATI BINTI HASHIM

GROUP: A

STUDENT’S NAME MATRIC NUMBER

THURGASHINI D/O RAVICHANDRAN E20172019087

DIVYASREE SURYANARAYANAN E20172019104

INTRODUCTION
 Transition metals differ from main group metals in several key properties. One of the
more interesting aspects of transition metals is their ability to form coordination compounds.
Coordination compounds are formed between a metal ion and a molecule with one or more
unshared electron pairs, called a ligand. Ligands may be classified according to the number of
donor atoms they contain. A monodentate ligand donates a single electron pair to the metal or
metal ion. Common examples of monodentate ligands include NH3, H2O, NO2-, and CN-. A
bidentate ligand, as the name suggests, donates two electron pairs to the metal or metal ion. A
good example is ethylenediamine, NH2CH2CH2NH2. Anions as well as neutral molecules may
act as ligands. If one or more neutral molecules coordinate to metal ion, the resulting species
retains the charge of the transition metal ion and is called a complex ion. For example, most
transition metal ions form complex ions with water molecules when in aqueous solution.
Examples include [Co (H2O)]6]3+ and [Ni (H2O)6]2+. If one or more anions coordinate to a
metal ion, a complex ion with an overall negative charge may result.

OBJECTIVE

To observe a various colour change in a complex ion due to ligand substitution

MATERIALS

CHEMICALS APPARATUS

 Copper Sulphate (0.025 M) CuSO4.5H2O  Test tube

 Concentrated ammonia solution (NH3)  Graduated cylinder
 Concentrated hydrochloric acid (HCl)  Dropper
 Ethylenediamine (en), C2H4(NH2)2  Test tube rack
 Ethyldiaminetetraacetate (EDTA),
C10H16N2O8
 Potassium cyanate KCN ,1.0 M

PROCEDURE
1. 3 mL of 0.025 M CuSO4.5H2O were placed in each of SIX test tubes.
2. 3 mL of HCl was added in the second test tube.
3. 3 mL of NH3 was added in the third test tube.
4. 3 mL of en was added in the fourth test tube.
5. 3 mL of EDTA was added in the fifth test tube.
6. 3 mL of 1.0 M KCN was added in the sixth test tube.
7. The colour change in each test tube was compared with the colour of the controlled test
tube.
RESULTS

1 2 3 4 5 6

Test Tube Observation

1 0.025M CuSO₄ .5H₂O Colourless
2 0.025M CuSO₄ .5H₂O + HCL Turns apple green(got vapour)
3 0.025M CuSO₄ .5H₂O + NH₃ Turns blue
4 0.025M CuSO₄ .5H₂O + C₂H₄(NH₂)₂ Blue at bottom and white cloudy on top(got vapour)
5 0.025M CuSO₄ .5H₂O + C₁₀H₁₆N₂O₈ Blue
6 0.025M CuSO₄ .5H₂O + KCN Turns pale yellow
DISCUSSION

For the first tube,copper sulphate(CuSO₄) is colourless when it is dissolved in water.This colour
of solution acted as control for the experiment.For the second tube,CuSO₄ reacted with
HCL.HCL which is colourless turned apple green after reacting with CuSO₄.This solution also
forms vapour on top.The reaction that occurs was:

CuSO₄.5H₂O + 4Cl⁻ [CuCl₄]²⁻ + SO₄²⁻

[CuCl₄]²⁻ is an ion with square planar geometry.For the third tube,CuSO₄ reacted with
ammonia(NH₃).Ammonia which is colourless turned to blue when reacted with CuSO₄.The
reaction that occurs was:

CuSO₄.5H₂O + 4NH₃ [Cu(H₂O)₂(NH₃)₄]²⁺ + SO₄²⁻

This reaction is usually used as a qualitative test for the copper(II)ion.For the fourth test
tube,CuSO₄ reacted with ethylenediamine (en).En which is colourless turned to blue at bottom
and white cloudy on top when reacted with CuSO₄.This solution also forms vapour on top.The
reaction that occurs was:

CuSO₄.5H₂O + C₂H₄(NH₂)₂ + H₂O

For the fifth test tube,CuSO₄ reacted with ethyldiaminetetraacetate(EDTA).EDTA which is

colourless turned to blue solution when reacted with CuSO₄.The reaction that occurs was:

CuSO₄.5H₂O + C₁₀H₁₆N₂O₈ (C₁₀H₁₆N₂O₈)²⁻ + 2H⁺

EDTA²⁻ forms a more stable complex and frees the indicator,which then displays its original
colour.The appearance of the free indicator means that all the metal ions had been complexed by
EDTA²⁻ ,which signals the end point.

For the sixth test tube,CuSO₄ reacted with potassium cyanide(KCN).KCN which is yellow in
colour turned to pale yellow when reacted with CuSO₄.The reaction that occurs was:

CuSO₄.5H₂O + 2KCN Cu(CN)₂ + K₂SO

CONCLUSION

There are various changes of colour occur towards CuSO₄ when reacting with different complex
ions.Apple green solution formed when HCL is added,blue solution is formed when NH₃ is
added,cloudy blue solution formed when EN is added,blue solution is formed when EDTA is
added and pale yellow solution is formed when KCN is added.

REFERENCES

https://www.scribd.com/document/249494639/A-Study-of-Copper-II-Complexes-with-Different-
Ligands

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bca/2014/104046/

https://pubs.a10.1021/ed cs.org/doi/abs/080p535