Experiment No.

5
Colloids

Cuizon, Marc Christian

Dizon, Tristan Gabriel
Maglasang, Glenn Michael
Taotao, Anna
Group 5, Chem 14.1, WEG1, Prof. Ralph Julius Mendoza
March 18, 2009
Experiment 5 is divided into three parts. The first part is the preparation of two types of
colloids, a sol and an emulsion. The second part consists of the preparation of the Alexander’s
Patriotic Tube, which also has another type of colloidal suspension, a gel. The properties of different
colloids are also observed after their preparation by observing the Tyndall effect and the amount of
precipitation formed when added with different substances.

Keywords: colloid, sol, emulsion, dispersion, lyophilic, lyophobic, Tyndall Effect, precipitate, patriotic
tube, coagulation

Introduction
Colloids are kinds of chemical mixtures
where a substance is dispersed evenly
throughout another. This is one advantage of
colloids, because colloid particles are bigger
than in a solution. They are very tiny that is why
they are easy to be dispersed evenly and thus,
maintaining homogenous appearance. But also,
they are also big enough to scatter light and not
be dissolved. Because of these properties they
are important not only in the field of chemistry
but also for the development of the standards in
our daily living. Colloids have been of
outstanding importance for the progress of the
different products and process for a long time.
The experiment aims to discover the various
characteristics of colloids – its properties, types
and uses in the field of chemistry through the
different procedures performed in this
experiment.
Experimental
Part I. Preparation of Colloids
A. Sol
50mL of water was heated until it started
to boil. 1M FeCl3 was added drop by drop until a
change in colour was observed. The solution
was allowed to cool and was set aside.
5-mL alcohol was heated in a water bath
and a pinch of sulfur was dissolved in the
alcohol. The solution was then poured with
stirring to 50-mL water.
A pinch of sulfur powder was dissolved
in another beaker containing 50-mL water. This
solution was compared with the 5-mL alcohol
and sulfur solution.
B. Emulsion
1.0mL of oil was added with shaking to a
test tube containing 10mL water. It was then left
standing for 10 mins. After observing, 5mL of
concentrated soap solution was added with
shaking to the mixture. It was observed again.
Part II. Alexander’s Patriotic tube
15mL of water was heated to boiling and
agar was dissolved in it followed by 2 drops of
1M NaOH, a number of drops of phenolphthalein
(until it turns pink), 1mL 1M K4[Fe(CN)6]. The
mixture was immediately poured into a test tube
and allowed to settle into a gel after which 1mL
of 0.1 M FeCl3 was poured in the test tube. The
test tube was corked and was left to stand for an
hour.
Part III. Properties of Colloids
A. Tyndall Effect
The solution prepared at the beginning
of the experiment, Fe(OH)3 sol, was placed in a
test tube and placed against a beam of light
coming through a small hole. The path of light
was observed. This procedure was repeated
using different systems: the alcohol and sulfur
solution (prepared earlier), CuSO4 sol., dilute
evaporated milk, boiled starch sol., unboiled
starch sol. And, soap solution. Each of the
systems’ results were compared using the result
for distilled water as a negative reference.
B. Precipitation
2mL of Fe(OH)3 sol, prepared earlier,
was added to three 10mL test tubes. In the first
test tube, 10 drops of 1M NaNO3 was added.
Then, 10 drops of 1M Na2SO4 was added to the
second and to the third, 10 drops of 1M Na3PO4
was added. The precipitation formed in each test
tube was compared relative to one another.

Chem 14.1,Colloids Page 1 of 4


Results
In the preparation of the Fe(OH)3 sol,
FeCl3 was observed to be dispersed in hot water.
In the two sulfur solutions prepared, the
one with hot alcohol and the one without, the
sulfur did not dissolve. However, in the solution
containing alcohol, the water became murky.
The mixture containing oil and water was
observed to have two layers with oil forming a
layer above the water. While the mixture
containing oil and soap solution was observed to
have mixed into a murky substance.
In the preparation of the Alexander’s
Patriotic tube, four separate layers of four
different colours were formed, pink, white, yellow
and blue. The different ions/compounds in the
pink gel reacted when the last reagent, FeCl3,
was added.
In the observation of the Tyndall Effect in
the different systems, the following results were
obtained:
Fe(OH)3  One type of colloid, a sol, is a lyophobic
Sulfur sol  or ‘solvent-hating’ suspension of solid particles
CuSO4 sol  dispersed in either another solid or a liquid
Dilute milk

Boiled starch sol  dissolved in water because sulfur is non-polar
Unboiled starch sol  whereas water is polar. Owing to the like
Soap sol  dissolves like principle, sulfur is not soluble in
Distilled H2O  water. Instead, sulfur stays suspended at the
Table 1-Tyndall Effect
 -light was not scattered
 -light was scattered
In the last part of the experiment, the three
Fe(OH)3 solutions with three different precipitants
yielded the following observations:
Precipitant Precipitate
1M NaNO3 Least amount
1M Na2SO4 Na3PO4> Na2SO4 > NaNO3
1M Na3PO4 Greatest amount
Table 2.Amount of precipitate
VI.Discussion
Matter is classified as either a pure
substance or a mixture. Pure substances can
either be an element (substance made up of only
one kind of atom) or a compound (a combination
of two or more elements that can only be
separated chemically). On the other hand,
mixtures are materials made by combining
different compounds that will not react with each
other chemically. This form of matter can be
separated by physical or mechanical processes.
Matter on earth is often found as a
Chem 14.1,Colloids
mixture. Most pure substances must be
separated first from other substances to obtain
them. When separating a compound from
another compound, one may find it dissolved,
suspended or dispersed in another compound.
When a compound is dissolved in
another compound, a homogenous mixture, a
mixture having uniform properties, is obtained.
This mixture is called a solution where the
dissolved substance is a solute and the
substance that dissolves it is a solvent.
Heterogeneous mixtures on the other hand do
not have the same composition, properties, and
appearance.
The nature of a substance affects its
solubility. Polar solutes are soluble only in polar
solvents and the same goes for non-polar
solutes. Like dissolves like.
Colloids or colloidal suspensions are on
the dividing line between solutions and
heterogeneous mixtures. They are mixtures that
contain particles larger than normal solutes but
small enough to remain suspended in the
dispersing medium.
‘solvent’.
Sulfur was observed not to have
bottom and at the surface of the solvent.
Alcohol, a slightly polar substance with
slightly non-polar ends, dissolves in water. The
structure of the alcohol used, ethyl alcohol,
C2H5OH, is partly polar because of the
hydrocarbon chain of C2H5 and it is partly non-
polar because of the hydroxyl group of OH.
When the mixture of hot alcohol and
sulfur was added in water, the alcohol dissolved
in water, turning the medium cloudy, while the
sulfur was left dispersed in the medium. The type
of colloidal dispersion formed was a sol.
An emulsion is another type of colloid
suspension where a liquid solute is dispersed in
a liquid or a solid medium. In the experiment, an
emulsion of a liquid substance dispersed in
another liquid was prepared.
Oil is non-polar therefore, when it was
mixed with water, a polar substance, it did not
dissolve. As it has less density than water, it
forms a separate layer above the water.
The soap solution that was later added,
has both polar and non-polar ends. Its structure
contains a hydrophobic, non-polar hydrocarbon
chain and also a hydrophilic, polar carboxylate
group.
The oil is a pure hydrocarbon so it is
Page 2 of 4
non-polar. The non-polar hydrocarbon tail of the
soap dissolves into the oil leaving the polar
carboxylate end of the soap molecules to stick
out of the oil droplets. This carboxylate group
then, dissolves into water.
The soap solution acts as an
“intermediary” between the oil and the water. It
provided the polar ends for water and the non-
polar ends for the oil to form an emulsion
between three substances.
The same principle is similarly used in
cleaning grease and oil from dishes. Since water
alone is not able to penetrate the oil or grease
because of opposite polarities, soap is used in
cleaning dishes.
Another type of colloid is a gel, a sol in
which the suspended particles are organized in a
loose, but definite arrangement, giving some
rigidity and elasticity to the mixture, as in jellies.
The Alexander’s Patriotic Tube that was
prepared formed four different layers of different
colours. At first, there was only a slightly alkaline
solution of agar with phenolphthalein and
K4[Fe(CN)6]. The phenolphthalein, a
pH indicator, turned the substance
pink as it indicates a basic
substance (the alkaline solution).
FeCl3 was added after it
cooled and a separation of the
substances was evident.
The top layer, Fe(OH)3, was
formed as a product of the reaction
of H2O and FeCl3.
The blue layer was formed
by the reaction of :
FeCl3 + K4[Fe(CN)6]KCl
Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3.
The 3rd, white layer was
produced when an acidic layer of HCl was
formed discharging the pink of the indicator.
The 4th layer of pink is the remains of the
original gel, which remains basic due to the
NaOH.
The ordering of each layer is due to the
density of the ions/compounds present in each
layer.
Colloids exhibit properties that
distinguish them from true solutions. One
property of colloid systems is that they scatter
light. If a beam of light, such as that from a
flashlight, passes through a colloid, the light is
reflected (scattered) by the colloidal particles
and the path of the light can therefore be
observed. When a beam of light passes through
a true solution there is so little scattering of the
light that the path of the light cannot be seen or
detected except by very sensitive instruments.
The scattering of light by colloids is known as the
Tyndall effect which was first explained by the
Chem 14.1,Colloids
British physicist John Tyndall.
In the experiment, the Tyndall effect
exists only in systems that are colloidal. The
colloidal particles that are suspended or
dispersed in the system are responsible for the
scattering of the light.
Distilled water was used as a negative
reference because it is a pure substance that
does not exhibit the Tyndall Effect.
Colloidal particles are frequently needed
to be removed from the dispersing medium, as in
the removal of butterfat from milk. But because
colloidal particles are too small, they cannot be
separated by simple filtration. One method of
separating colloidal particles is by coagulation,
where the colloidal particles are enlarged.
The FeCl3 sol colloid was separated
through three different precipitants. Due to the
number of moles of Na and the anions from each
precipitant, the amount of precipitate was
affected. Each precipitant had the following
reactions:
• FeCl3 + 3NaNO3 3NaCl + Fe(NO3)3
• 2FeCl3 + 3Na2SO4 6NaCl + Fe2(SO4)3
• FeCl3 + Na3PO4 3NaCl + FePO4
After the reaction, the colloidal particles
coagulate, and precipitate out.
VI. Conclusion and Recommendations
Colloids are mixtures that can either be
homogeneous and heterogeneous. Their solutes
are too small to be claimed as suspensions and
too big to be claimed as solutions. Because of
+ this, they could exhibit some properties similar to
suspensions and properties similar to solutions.
However, they can be distinguished from the two
for they could exhibit properties such as Tyndall
effect, adsorption and dispersion (caused by the
bombardment due to repulsion of the molecules
of dispersed molecules having the uniform
charges or Brownian Movement).
Suspensions can become colloids if agents such
as emulsifying agents and surfactants are
introduced in the suspension. Examples are
detergents, that can make dirt, oils and fats be
dispersed in water and be washed away from
clothes, and alcohol, that can disperse sulfur in
water.
VIII. References
Lewin, Seymour Z. “Colloid.” Microsoft®
Encarta® 2009
(n.a).(n.d) Retrieved from
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_
ions_or_compounds_responsible_for_the
Page 3 of 4
 _different_colors_observed_in_Alexander
%27s_Patriotic_tube
March 15, 2009

(n.a).(n.d) Retrieved from

http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchemboo
k/554soap.html
March 16, 2009

(n.a).(n.d) Retrieved from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyndall_effect
March 16, 2009

(n.a).(2007) Retrieved from

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0857
436.html
March 16, 2009

(n.a).(n.d) Retrieved from

http://books.google.com.ph/books?
id=BVpDI7n2M9gC&pg=PA646&lpg=PA6
46&dq=precipitation+in+colloids&source=
bl&ots=gWFyLkgGpw&sig=KzAvqgtedKc
y9Ji-ZnaYAow_zB8&hl=en&ei=55-_Sa-
lO5jC6gOWq42vDQ&sa=X&oi=book_res
ult&resnum=5&ct=result#PPA649,M1
March 16, 2009

Brown, T.L., LeMay, H.E., Jr., & Bursten, B.E.

(2000). Chemistry: The central science,
8th ed. New Jersey: Prentice – Hall, Inc.

I hereby certify that I have given substantial

contribution to this report.

_______________________
Maglasang, Glenn Michael

______________________
Taotao, Anna

______________________
Cuizon, Marc Christian

_____________________
Dizon, Gabriel Tristan

Chem 14.1,Colloids Page 4 of 4