Copper (I) chloride

 

Copper (I) chloride
aka cuprous chloride

Chemical formula	CuCl
OTP appearance	white crystal
Molar Mass(g/mol)	98.999
Melting Point(°C)	423
Boiling Point(°C)	1490(decomp)
Density(g/cc)	4.14
Solubility in water(g/L)	0.047
NFPA 704	0 3 0

Uses

Justification Questioned

Production

Synthesis

from copper (II) chloride

sulfuric acid process

• Bubbling sulfur dioxide through an aqueous solution of copper (II) chloride produces copper (I) chloride, sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid.

2 CuCl₂(aq) + SO₂(g) + 2 H₂O → 2 CuCl + H₂SO₄ + 2 HCl

sodium sulfite

Dissolve 5 g CuCl2▪2 H2O in 5 mL of water. Dissolve 3.5 g Na2SO3 in 25 mL of water. Make up a dilute sulfurous acid solution by dissolving 1 g of sodium sulfite (Na2SO3) and 2 mL of concentrated HCl in 1 L of water. Add the copper (II) chloride solution to the sodium sulfite solution while stirring. The solution is initially colored, but as the reduction proceeds, changes to a colorless copper(I) chloride that will precipitate.

thermal decomposition

• At approximately 1000°C, copper (II) chloride decomposes

  2 CuCl

  {

  →

  100°C}

  2 CuCl + Cl₂

Purification

Both ammonium chloride and copper (II) chloride are readily soluble in water, while copper (I) chloride is not. Washing with water, therefore, would remove those two components.