Experiment 8

Title:
Preparation and studies of potassium Tris(oxalato) aluminateIII
Trihydrate{K3[Al(C2O4)3].3H2O} and studies his reactions
Objective
To prepare Potassium tris(Oxalato)aluminate(III)trihydrate {K3[Al(C2O4)3].3H2O} and
study its reactions
Introduction
Aluminium is a chemical element symbolized by Al with atomic number 13,the element
is a hard,strong,and white metal.Element aluminium itself is clearly metallic and ionic in
their character.It is the group 13(IIIA) element in periodic table.The electronic
configuration is [Ne]3s23p1 as a result the trivalent state is its most important state.It is the
commonest metallic element in the earths crust and occurs widely in nature in silicates
such a micas and feldspares (Cotton andd Wilkinson,1972).
Oxalate ion is a versatile ligand since it can act as a mono -,bi-,tri-,and tetradentate ligand
and capabl of forming bridged polynuclear complexes.
Oxalate (IUPAC: ethanedioate) is the dianion with the formula C2O42, also written
(COO)22. Either name is often used for derivatives, such as salts of oxalic acid, for
example sodium oxalate Na2C2O4, or dimethyl oxalate ((CH3)2C2O4). Oxalate also
forms coordination compounds where it is sometimes abbreviated as ox.
Aluminum occurs widely in nature as aluminosilicate minerals and as bauxite,
Al2O3.xH2O from which the metal can be produced by electrolysis after dissolving in
molten cryolite, Na3AlF6. The metal is mainly used in aluminum alloys. The
organoaluminum compounds (e.g., Et3Al) are used in the catalysts involved in the
polymerisation of ethene.
Group 13 (IIIA) of the Periodic Table includes the elements boron (B), aluminum (Al),
gallium (Ga), indium (In) and thallium (Tl). The electronic configuration is ns 2np1 and
the group valency is three. Aluminum is present in the third period and contains empty 3d
orbitals and favours the formation of complexes with six coordination number. It forms
stable octahedral complexes with ligands such as 8-hydroxyquinoline which also known
as oxine (C9H7NO) and with the oxalate anion (C 2O42-). In this experiment, you are
to prepare an oxalato-aluminum (III) complex and study its reactions.
Materials andd apparatus
0.0105 mole Al2(SO4)3.18H2O,distilled water,5M NaOH, oxalic acid,potassium oxalate
monohydrate,beaker,vacuum filter,hot plate
Procedure:
1. 0.0105 mole Al2(SO4)3.18H2O was dissolved in 100 ml distilled water.A solution of
5M NaOH was prepared in 20 ml of distilled water and was added to the above solution
dropwise with stirring.
2.The freshly precipitated Al(OH)3 was filtered using a vacuum filtration technique and

the precipitate was washed a few times using 20 ml of distilled water each time.
3.0.0159mole oxalic acid dihydrate was weighed and 0.0163 mole potassium oxalate
monohydrate and was dissolved in 50 ml distilled water in a 500 ml beaker. Al(OH) 3 was
added to the solution and the mixture was heated on a steam bath with stirring using a
glass rod to dissolve Al(OH)3 sometimes a little precipitate may remain
4.The solution to about 30 ml was evaporate using a rotary evaporator or a hot plate.The
concentrated solution into a 250 ml beaker was gravity filtered.
5.A 35 ml of ethanol was added to the solution dropwise over 10 minutes and cooled in
ice to precipitate completely colourless crystals of the product.
6.The product was vacuum filtered as in step (2) and washed four times with 10 ml
ethanol, dry completely by vacuum suction.
7.The dry product was kept for the next experiment.(not finished)
8.The product was weigh.About 0.5 g was transferred into a small beaker to carry out the
following test for the presence of potassium, aluminum and oxalate in the product.(not
finished)
Results
No results in the experiment
Discussion:
Aluminium is a chemical element symbolized by Al with atomic number 13,the element
is a hard,strong,and white metal.Element aluminium itself is clearly metallic and ionic in
their character.It is the group 13(IIIA) element in periodic table.The electronic
configuration is [Ne]3s23p1 as a result the trivalent state is its most important state.It is the
commonest metallic element in the earths crust and occurs widely in nature in silicates
such a micas and feldspares (Cotton andd Wilkinson,1972).
Oxalate ion is a versatile ligand since it can act as a mono -,bi-,tri-,and tetradentate ligand
and capabl of forming bridged polynuclear complexes.
Moreover oxalate can act as bridging unit for polynuclear complexes and extended
molecules assembly in order to studty magnetic ordering behavior.For structural point of
view,ionic,chain and layer structures are known .

Moreover,oxalate can act as bridging unit for polynuclear complexes and extended
molecules assemblies,not only owing to their magnetostructural properties but also due to
the fact that polynuclear oxalate system are excellent candidate to improve our still very
limiting understanding of the way that molecules and ions are organised in the solidd
state to form materials with physical and chemical properties.
Some precaution steps need to take to make the experiment to success,boiled the water
first during experiment because it will take a lot of time to when boiling.besides
that,when you filtered please remember be careful otherwise the filter paper will be
broken.
Conclusion
This experiment is failed because didnt control the time wisely and filter paper always
broken when doing this experiment so we must take care of this.
Reference:
Oxalate-wikipedia the free encyclopedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalate
Oxalate complexes:http://wwwchem.uwimona.edu.jm/lab_manuals/c10expt15.html