Heating Group 1 metals in
air and in chlorine
Demonstration
This is a
demonstration that shows the reactions of Group 1 metals in air and
in chlorine. It does not clearly show the trends in reactivity of
Group 1 metals, which is better demonstrated by the reactions in water, which
follow on well from this demonstration.
To view a
video of this demonstration experiments.
Lesson
organisation
This
experiment must be done as a demonstration. If you have not attempted this
experiment before, it is strongly advised that you try it before performing the
demonstration in front of students.
The first
step is to generate chlorine, which can be done in advance, and requires a fume
cupboard. The rest of the demonstration can be done in a well-ventilated
laboratory. Goggles should be worn during the chlorine generation and the
demonstration. The class should also wear eye protection during the
demonstration.
How long
the demonstration takes depends largely on how much talking you do between each
part of the experiment. To speed things up a bit, the metals can be pre-cut
into appropriately sized pieces, but they should be returned to the oil until
just before they are used. For some classes it may be appropriate to do just
one part of the experiment and heat the metals in either air or chlorine.
Chemicals
Lithium
(HIGHLY FLAMMABLE, CORROSIVE) (Note 3 and 4)
Sodium
(HIGHLY FLAMMABLE, CORROSIVE) (Note 3)
Potassium
(HIGHLY FLAMMABLE, CORROSIVE) (Note 3)
Sodium
chlorate(I) solution, 10-14% (w/v) (CORROSIVE), fresh (Note 2)
Hydrochloric
acid, 5M (IRRITANT AT THIS DILUTION) (Note 2)
Apparatus
Goggles
for the demonstrator, eye protection for the audience
Fume
cupboard (only for generating the chlorine)
Clean,
dry bricks with at least one flat surface, 3 (Note 1)
Gas jars
with lids, 3 (Note 1)
Bunsen
burner
Heat
resistant mat
Scalpel
Forceps
or tweezers
Tile
Filter
paper
Universal
Indicator paper
Chlorine
generator (TOXIC, DANGEROUS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT) See Standard Techniques: Generating collecting and testing gases (Note
2)
Health
and Safety and Technical notes
Demonstrator
to wear goggles or face shield, class to wear eye protection.
Chlorine -
see CLEAPSS Hazcard.
Lithium -
see CLEAPSS Hazcard.
Sodium -
see CLEAPSS Hazcard.
Potassium -
see CLEAPSS Hazcard.
Sodium
chlorate(I) - see CLEAPSS Hazcard.
Hydrochloric
acid - see CLEAPSS Hazcard and Recipe book.
1 The
mouth of the gas jar must be narrower than the brick, to reduce the amount of
gas escaping during the demionstration.
2 There
are two methods given in the standard techniques for generating chlorine. The
method that uses sodium chlorate(I) is safer than the method that uses
potassium manganate(VII), but will not work well if the sodium chlorate(I) is
an old sample as the concentration will be too low. Note that sodium
chlorate(I), NaOCl, is NOT the same as chlorate(V), NaClO3.
3 It
is very helpful to have the 3 mm cubes of lithium, sodium and potassium cut
ready to use. These should still be kept under oil until they are required.
4 Do
not heat lithium in crucibles or other porcelain material – explosions have
occurred.
Procedure
Heating the metals in air
a Starting with lithium, use the tweezers to pick up a small piece of metal and place it on a tile. Use a scalpel to cut a small cube with an edge of about 3 mm. Show the students the freshly cut surface which soon tarnishes, showing that the metal reacts quickly with oxygen. Blot off the oil using the filter paper, and place it onto the flat surface of the brick.
a Starting with lithium, use the tweezers to pick up a small piece of metal and place it on a tile. Use a scalpel to cut a small cube with an edge of about 3 mm. Show the students the freshly cut surface which soon tarnishes, showing that the metal reacts quickly with oxygen. Blot off the oil using the filter paper, and place it onto the flat surface of the brick.
b Heat
the metal from above using the hottest part of a roaring Bunsen flame just
beyond the blue cone. Once the metal is on fire, remove the Bunsen flame. You
should be able to observe the classic red of a lithium flame. (You may
initially see a yellow flame, but this is the burning of any oil which was not
removed.)
c Once
the metal has stopped burning, test the residue with damp indicator paper and
show that it is alkaline.
d Repeat
for sodium and potassium.
Heating the metals in chlorine
a Prepare gas jars on chlorine in advance using a chlorine generator. See Standard Techniques: Generating collecting and testing gases.
a Prepare gas jars on chlorine in advance using a chlorine generator. See Standard Techniques: Generating collecting and testing gases.
b Check
that the mouths of the gas jars of chlorine are narrower than the brick to
reduce the amount of escaping gas, and that the colour of the gas in the jar is
green. If it is not then there is not enough chlorine present for the
demonstration to be successful.
c Starting
with lithium, cut a small cube with an edge of about 3 mm. Blot off any excess
oil. Place it on the clean, dry brick.
d Heat
the piece of metal from above using the Bunsen burner (see diagram below). When
the metal is burning, take away the Bunsen, invert the gas jar, remove the lid
and immediately place over the burning metal. It helps to have a second pair of
hands to do this. The metal continues to burn, producing fumes of white
chloride. This method avoids producing FeCl3 or CuCl2, which can occur when a combustion spoon, or
deflagration spoon made of iron or brass, is used.
e Repeat
for sodium and potassium.
·
Heating
sodium in chlorine Reproduced from CLEAPSS Guide: L195 'Safer Chemicals, Safer
Reactions', section 9.3, by permission of CLEAPSS®
·
Heating sodium in chlorine Reproduced from CLEAPSS
Guide: L195 'Safer Chemicals, Safer Reactions', section 9.3, by permission of
CLEAPSS®
Teaching notes
When
heating in both air and chlorine, the expected pattern of lithium being the
least reactive through to potassium being the most reactive may not be observed
as it is hard to see potassium burning without the Bunsen flame. This may well
be due to the potassium reacting faster than the others and an oxide coating
being formed almost as soon as you begin to heat it.
In air:
4Li (s) +
O2 (g) → 2Li2O (s)
Sodium
and potassium produce a mixture of oxides, peroxides and superoxides.
In
chlorine:
2Na (s) +
Cl2 (g) → 2NaCl (s) and similarly for the others.
The
typical flame colours for lithium (red) and sodium (yellow) can usually be seen
and sometimes the lilac of the potassium flame.
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