Testing for cations

Lesson 11.5
 How can we identify a substance in solution?
 Aqueous sodium hydroxide or aqueous ammonia can be used to identify
positive ions in compounds.
 Positive ions are often called cations because they move to the cathode
when a solution is electrolysed.
 A solid that we want to identify is the best to dissolve in a little water
first and use this aqueous solution for the test.
 The procedure for identifying cation is:
1. Put a small amount of solution into test tube.
2. Add a few drops of aqueous sodium hydroxide.
3. Observe the colour of any precipitate.
4. Add excess aqueous sodium hydroxide and shake the test tube.
5. Record whether precipitate dissolves or not and any colour changes.
  This procedure can be repeated using aqueous ammonia instead of
sodium hydroxide.
 The table shows the results is particular cations are present:

metal cation result with aqueous sodium hydroxide result with aqueous ammonia
white precipitate white precipitate
aluminium,Al3+
soluble in excess (colourless solution) insoluble in excess
white precipitate no precipitate or very slight white
calcium,Ca2+
insoluble in excess precipitate
light blue precipitate light blue precipitate
copper(II),Cu2+
insoluble in excess soluble in excess (dark blue solution)
grey-green precipitate grey-green precipitate
iron(II),Fe2+
insoluble in excess insoluble in excess
reddish-brown precipitate reddish-brown precipitate
iron(III),Fe3+
insoluble in excess insoluble in excess
white precipitate white precipitate
zinc,Zn2+
soluble in excess (colourless solution) soluble in excess (colourless solution)
 Sodium hydroxide and ammonia react in a similar way with some of
ions.
 We can use this two alkalis to distinguish the colourless solutions
containing aluminium and zinc ions.
 If the alkalis are not in excess, the formed precipitates are metal
hydroxides. Equation for copper, for example, will be:
Ca2+(aq) + 2OH-(aq) → Cu(OH)2(s)
copper ions + hydroxide ions → copper hydroxide
 The aluminium and zinc ions dissolve in excess sodium hydroxide
because they form soluble aluminates and zincates.
 When a solution containing ammonium ions is heated with sodium
hydroxide, ammonia gas is given off (turns red litmus blue):
NH4+(aq) + OH-(aq) → NH3(g) + H2O(l)
 We can use a flow chart to identify an unknown cation in an order way.