COPPER(II) HYDROXIDE

SYNTHESIS LAB REPORT

[ Accelerated Chemistry]

EDITED BY
Nattapoom Dumronglaohapun
Kanoknop Phatiamorn
Yanin Gasemsin
NOVEMBER 23 , 2018
1101
MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL DEMONSTRATION SCHOOL
 STNETNOC FO ELBAT
Abstract 3
Introduction 4
Objective 8
Experimental 9
Chemical and Equipment 9
Method 10
Results 11
Discussions 12
Conclusion 19
Suggestions/Errors 20
Pictures 22
References 23

02
ABSTRACT
Copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate is a large blue crystal-like object with
five molecules of water which is also known as blue vitriol. This molecule is
composed of several atoms including four surrounding oxygen atoms which are
connected to the sulfur atom in the middle and five molecules of water.
Sodium hydroxide is a white odorless solid. This molecule is composed
of several atoms including an oxygen atom connecting to a sodium atom and
hydrogen atom.
In this experiment, we mixed two solutions together including copper(II)
sulfate pentahydrate solution and sodium hydroxide solution, and result as
copper(II) hydroxide which is the product of our experiment. Moreover, we will
be using paper filtration to separate the solid from the solid.
The chemicals that we used in this experiment include copper sulfate,
sodium hydroxide, distilled water and Ethanol. We began the experiment with
weighting the substances and some required materials. Then, we mixed the
solutions together and filter them through the filter paper. After we got the
filter paper dried in the oven, the substance was ready to be weighted.
Our weight result for solution A and B was 0.45 grams, and 0.54 grams
for solution A and C. A and B result was light blue solid with a sand-like
texture, and for solution A and C, as the result was burned in the oven, the
substance was dark and clumped together randomly.
The colors of the products were different because each reaction has
different limiting reagent which also affected the amount of the result or
product produced at the end of the experiment. Moreover, the colors of the
filtrate were also different from what they theoretically should be because of
human errors.
For the first filtrate, it was as expected, but for the second filtrate, we spilled
the solution, so the filtrate was darker than it should be.
In this laboratory report, we achieved the objective in this experiment.
Copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate was our limiting reagent, and the percent yield
was 180.9% for A and B, and 110.59% for A and C. Nevertheless, our actual
yield was higher than the theoretical yield because of the errors and parallax in
the experiment which could be improved in the next experiment.

03
INTRODUCTION
COMPOUND

Copper sulfate or CuSO4 is a chemical compound that is formed

by treating cupric oxide with sulfuric acid. After treating with water, this
compound results in a large blue crystal-like object with five molecules
of water which is also known as blue vitriol or Copper sulfate
pentahydrate. This chemical compound has a molecular weight of
249.685 g/mol. Copper sulfate itself has four surrounding oxygen atoms
which are connected to the sulfur atom in the middle. Two of the bonds
are double bonds, and others are single bonds which the oxygen atom
has a negative charge. As the oxygen atoms result in two negative
charges in total, the molecule attracts Copper atom with two positive
charges which connect to five molecules of water. That forms the overall
structure of copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate. For copper(II) sulfate
pentahydrate property, its melting point is 110 °C, which the water
molecules are decomposed. The molecule is non-combustible, nauseating
metallic taste, odorless, and would turn white when it is dehydrated, and
the molecule is also soluble in water, methanol, and glycerol. The bonds
between the atoms in this molecule are ionic bonds.

Sodium hydroxide or NaOH can be formed by electrolyzing

sodium chloride, and around the cathode, sodium hydroxide is made.
The molecule has a molecular weight of 39.997 g/mol which is the
result from an oxygen atom connecting to a sodium atom and hydrogen
atom with single bonds. Its boiling point is 102 °C, and the melting
point is 318.4°C. At room temperature, we would see sodium hydroxide

04
INTRODUCTION
COMPOUND
REACTION

as a white odorless solid which can absorb moisture and humidity from
the air. It is less soluble in alcohol comparing to its solubility in water,
but this molecule very soluble in water, alcohol, glycerin, and
methanol. As a solution, sodium hydroxide solution, it is colorless liquid
denser than water, that is why the substance is generally used as solid
or solution of 50%. For chemical property, sodium hydroxide reacts
with acidic oxides and create salts, for example, 2NaOH + CO2 ->
Na2CO3 + H2O. It reacts with F2 and forms O2, like, 2NaOH + 2F2 ->
OF2 + 2NaF + H2O, etc. Same as copper sulfate, the bonds between the
atoms in this molecule are ionic bonds.

In chemical reaction, there is a reactant that is completely

consumed. This reactant is called as limiting reagent or limiting
reactant. As regard to the name itself, limiting reagent can be used to
calculate the amounts of products that could be formed. In other
words, the limiting reagent determines the maximum amounts of
products. Besides the limiting reagent, the reactant that leftover when
the reaction stops are known as excess reactants which is also what we
are finding in the experiment. In this experiment, copper(II) sulfate
pentahydrate was reacted with sodium hydroxide to synthesis copper
hydroxide or Cu(OH)2. Copper(II) sulfate would be dissolved in the
water as it is a polar molecule, so the resulting would be Cu+ ion and
SO4 -2. Then, the copper ion attracted to two molecules of OH which
result as copper(II) hydroxide or our product. Disodium attracted to

05
INTRODUCTION
COMPOUND
REACTION

sulfate, so that resulted as sodium sulfate, however that was not our
product. In addition, the result also contains five molecules of water
which were needed to be removed before we weight our result.

PAPER FILTRATION
In this experiment, we mixed the solutions together, and use
the technique of paper filtration to separate the solid from the water.
Then, we put the substance into the oven to vaporize the all of the
water that was still attached to the substance. The paper filtration
was a very important process in this particular experiment. As the
usage of paper filtration is for separating particles from fluid which is
gas or liquid, paper filtration played an important role in the synthesis
of copper(II) hydroxide. We needed to collect the data about the
weight before and after the experiment to calculate the percent yield.
Before we can weight our resulting substance, we needed to separate
water from our product. Therefore, if we did not filtrate the solution
with paper, our substance would not slit, so we would not be able to
weight and collect data about our result. Moreover, this process made
us have time to look at the substance by it was slitting, so we could
see the substance clearly, and observe.
Before we filtrate the solution using the filter paper, we need
to prepare several materials first. We used two filter papers for each
mixing. Firstly, we need to weight the filter paper. Then, fold paper
into sixteen equal parts through the center of the paper, and put the

06
INTRODUCTION
PAPER
FILTRATION

folded papers in the plastic funnels, then they are ready for filtration.
To filter, we needed to slowly pour our mixed solutions into the
funnel trying not to let the solution level overflow the paper, so that
our result would not have any error by parallax and human error.
Lastly, we waited for the solution to slit and separate our solid result
from the liquid result.

Cupric sulfate. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2018, from https://pubche

m.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/co mpound/Copper_II__sulfate_pentahydrate#
section=Top
COPPER SULFATE PENTAHYDRATE. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2018,
from https://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/chemical/20049
Sodium Hydroxide. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2018, from https://pu
bchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/sodium_hydroxide#section=Top

07
OBJECTIVE
As we are studying about the relationship of mass
which also covers the topic of reactant and product amount
calculation, this experiment was conducted for us to  learn
and understand clearly about mass relationship between
before and after experiments. It requires the knowledge that
we study in class to really apply in real experiment, therefore,
we would understand more clearly of the process of
calculation. Moreover, we often use the given number to
calculate the percent yield, but in this experiment, we needed
to use real value, so it would enable us to see real value and
real percentage yield which might differ from the given value
when we do the exercises in class.
Another objective of this experiment is for us to
practice our laboratory and experimenting skills. We need to
follow instructions accurately and use proper lab equipment as
we are handling chemical substances that may be dangerous
and cause harm. Moreover, in many experiment, we, as
students, often make human errors and parallax. Therefore,
this experiment also helps us to decrease our error in doing an
experiment.

08
CHEMICALS
1. Copper Sulfate (CuSO4)
2. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH)
3. Distilled water
4. Ethanol

EQUIPMENTS
1. 100 mL beaker
2. 50 mL graduated cylinder
3. Stirring rod
4. Filter paper
5. Weighing paper
6. Spatula
7. Watch glass
8. Funnel
9. Ring stand & clamp

09
METHODS

10
RESULTS

11
DISCUSSIONS
To synthesize copper(II) hydroxide Cu(OH)2, copper(II)
sulfate pentahydrate – CuSO4  5H2O – reacts with sodium
hydroxide, NaOH.  The balanced chemical equation in this
experiment is thus represented by the following equation.

The maximum amount of the product that could be

formed is determined by the limiting reagent which is the
reactant that is completely consumed first. So, indicating the
limiting reagent is an essential step for us to calculate the
theoretical yield. In this lab, there are three solution including
solution A, solution, B, and solution C, which are 2.5 grams of
copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate in 50 milliliters of water,
0.204 gram of sodium hydroxide in 25 milliliters of water, and
0.5825 gram of sodium hydroxide in 25 milliliters of water
respectively. For the first reaction between the solution A and
the solution B, the number of moles of copper(II) sulfate
pentahydrate in solution A are equal to the amount of
copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate in grams divided by its molar
mass, which can be shown as followed.

12
DISCUSSIONS
However, only a half of the solution A is used. So, there
is only 5.005 × 10-3 mole of copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate in
the reaction. Similarly, the number of moles of sodium
hydroxide in the solution B will equal to the amount of sodium
hydroxide in grams divided by its molar mass expressed as
followed.

Since the mole ratio of the copper(II) sulfate

pentahydrate and sodium hydroxide is 1:2, there should be
0.01001 mole of sodium hydroxide if the mole of copper(II)
sulfate pentahydrate is 5.005 × 10-3. However, there is only
5.100 × 10-3 mole of sodium hydroxide presented. This
therefore means that the sodium hydroxide is the limiting
reagent in the first reaction. And the excess reactant would be
the reactant that is not the limiting reagent. This therefore
means the excess is copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate. As
mentioned before, the limiting reagent can be used to find the
theoretical yield. Using mole ratio between the limiting
reagent and the interested product, the theoretical yield of
wanted product could be calculated. With the ratio of two
sodium hydroxide to one copper(II) hydroxide, the mole of

13
DISCUSSIONS
product – Cu(OH)2 – should be 2.550 × 10-3 mole if the
sodium hydroxide is 5.100 × 10-3 mole. The theoretical yield
in grams would equal to the number of moles of copper(II)
hydroxide times its molar mass, which are equal to (2.550 ×
10-3)[63.546 + 2(15.999 + 1.008)] or (2.550 × 10-3)(97.56) or
0.2488 gram.
Like the first reaction, the second reaction between the
solution A and the solution C is also needed to figure out the
limiting reagent. But first of all, the number of moles of the
solution C has to be calculated as followed.

As regard to the chemical equation, the mole ratio of

the copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate and sodium hydroxide is
1:2. Hence, 0.01001 mole of sodium hydroxide must be
presented if there is 5.005 × 10-3 mole of copper(II) sulfate
pentahydrate. However, there is 0. 01456 mole of sodium
hydroxide which means that sodium hydroxide is leftover. So,
sodium hydroxide is the excess reactant. In other words, the
limiting reagent is copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate The
theoretical yield of the second reaction thus can be calculated
by using the mole ratio of copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate –

14
DISCUSSIONS
the limiting reactant – and copper(II) hydroxide – the product,
which is 1:1. The number of moles of copper(II) sulfate
pentahydrate thus have to equal to the number of moles of
copper(II) hydroxide. Since there is 5.005 × 10-3 mole of
copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate, the number of moles of
copper(II) hydroxide would also be 5.005 × 10-3 mole. To find
the theoretical yield in gram, the number of moles of
copper(II) hydroxide will be multiplied by its molar mass as
expressed by (5.005 × 10-3)[63.546 + 2(15.999 + 1.008)] or
(5.005 × 10-3)(97.56), which would simply equal to 0.4883
gram.
From the experiment, the weights of the solid product
– the Cu(OH)2 – from the first reaction and the second
reaction are 0.45 gram and 0.54 gram respectively. With
these data, the percent yield can be calculated. The percent
yield is the percentage of the actual yield – real amount of
product obtained – relates to the theoretical yield. The
percent yield is determined using the following equation.

For the reaction between the solution A and the

solution B, the percent yield thus equal to (0.45 / 0.2448)
(100%) or 180.9%. Likewise, the percent yield of the second
reaction will equal to (0.54 / 0.4883)(100%) or 110.59%. The
percent yields of both reaction are more than 100%, which

15
DISCUSSIONS
means the actual yield is more than the theoretical yield. In
fact, it would be impossible for the actual yield to be greater
or equal to the theoretical yield. In other words, having 100%
or more of percent yield is not possible, whether it is because
the product lost in purification process, reactants or products
left on the surface of the container, or the conditions such as
temperature and humidity are not suitable. There are
countless of factors.
Howsoever, the percent yields that are gotten from the
experiment are both more than 100%. The reasons would
mainly be because of human errors. The amount of copper(II)
sulfate pentahydrate that is putted might be more than 2.5
grams. Or perhaps, the amount of the solution A that is
poured is not exactly a half, but slightly more than a half
causing the number of moles of reactants increased. Also, in
this reaction the copper(II) hydroxide is not the only product,
which means there are also the other products – byproducts.
In this case, the byproducts are salt – sodium sulfate Na2SO4
– and water, H2O. There is a chance the byproducts were
removed all. In order to get rid of the byproducts, the distill
water and the ethanol are needed. Being in the oven the night
and rinsed with ethanol, the byproduct – water – would be
removed almost all. In contrast, the salt that was cleaned by
rinsing the distill water into the solid product might not be
cleaned out entirely, whether because the time that we had

16
DISCUSSIONS
was limited, so when the class almost ended we was kind of
hurry. Thus, there might be enough time for the salt to
dissolve and filtered out by the filtered paper. Hence, there
might be some salt leftover in the solid product causing its
weight to increase, which would affect the calculation of
percent yield causing the percent yield to be higher than it
should.
During the experiment, it is obvious that the color of
solution from the first reaction and the second reaction are
different, even though they shared the same chemical
reaction. The color of the solution of the first reaction is light
blue like cyan, but the color of the solution A mixing with the
solution C has a darker tone of blue. This is because the
different limiting reagent. For the reaction between the
solution A and the solution B, the limiting reactant is sodium
hydroxide, while the limiting reagent in the second reaction is
copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate. As shown in the calculation of
theoretical yield, having the sodium hydroxide as the limiting
reagent formed less amount of the products – Cu(OH)2 – than
having the copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate as the limiting
reactant. The color of copper(II) hydroxide is blue, but the
color of copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate is light blue. So, the
first reaction that there is less copper(II) hydroxide formed
and there are copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate leftover would
have the lighter blue color. And the second reaction that more

17
DISCUSSIONS
copper(II) hydroxide is produced would therefore have the
darker blue. From these, it is safe to assume that the more pH
we have, the darker the solution will be. When the sodium
hydroxide is excess, the more copper(II) hydroxide could be
formed and hence the darker color. This thus means that the
concentration of hydroxide – the pOH and pH – affects the
color of products.
Besides the different color of the solution, the colors
of filtrates are also different. In theory, the filtrate of the first
reaction should be light blue in color, while the filtrate of the
second reaction would be clear color. Since there should be
the copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate left as it is an excess
reactant, there filtrate thus should have light blue color due to
the color of the copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate. For the
filtrate of the second reaction, it should be in clear color as
the copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate is completely consumed.
So, there should not leave the blue color in the filtrate. From
the result of our group, the filtrate of the first reaction went
along as we expected. However, the color of the second
filtrate was blue. This result came from the human error as
some of the mixing solution A and solution C was spilled out
the filtered paper causing the filtrate contaminated.

18
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
In this laboratory report, we had discussed about
copper(II) hydroxide synthesis in order for us to understand
about the mass relationship in chemical reactions, so that we
would be able to calculate the amount of both reactants and
products, and the percent yield of the reaction. We achieved
the objective in this experiment; we were able to synthesize
copper(II) hydroxide in solid form, calculate the amount of
reactants and products, and percent yield. The copper(II)
hydroxide formed by mixing solution A and B resulted in a
light blue crystal formed solid. For solution A and C, the result
was a darker, black, as it was burned in the oven, and the
product clumped together randomly. In this experiment,
copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate was our limiting reagent, and
the percent yield was 180.9% for A and B, and 110.59% for A
and C. Nevertheless, our actual yield was higher than the
theoretical yield because of the errors and parallax in the
experiment. Therefore, in the next experiment, if we have
more time and practice doing experiments more, our human
errors would be decreased, and our percent yield may be less.

12
9
SUGGESTIONS/
ERRORS In this experiment, we did a lot of processes that
require accuracy and delicate, for example, folding the filter
papers and filtration. At first, we divided our tasks into three
main parts, Namtip folding the papers, Bebe weighting the
reactants, and Poom getting the solutions. However, when we
came back to the table, we could not remember the solution if
which was which, so we needed to get the solutions again. If
we were more careful and clearly label the beakers that we
used to get the solutions, we would have wasted less time.
Also, when we mixed solution A with B and C, there was some
of the solution A left in the beaker, however, we measured it
properly from the start, 50 mL, to the end, separating into 25
mL and 25 mL, so we were not sure what error we made
during that process of experimenting. Then, we made a little
error while filtering our resultant solution. While we were
pouring the mix of solution C and A through the filter paper,
we poured it a bit too fast, so the solution level went over the
filter paper a bit, so there were some solids that went through
with the solution and did not attach to the filter paper.
Therefore, the final weight was changed from what it should
be a little. Next time, we would be more careful, precise and
delicate when doing our experiment especially when we are
handling chemical substance and solutions, so there would not
be any human error or parallax.

20
SUGGESTIONS/
ERRORS
This experiment could be improved by letting the
students calculate the value of the mass of the resulting
product before doing the experiment, so the students would
have some broad idea about what the experiment and the
resulting weight would be like. Before doing the experiment,
the teachers and instructors should check the flowchart more
properly, so that they are sure that the students are clear on
the procedures and methods of the experiment because,
during the experiment, some of the students were still
confused about some steps. Moreover, there should be more
time in doing the filtration. The process of filtration took a
long time for the solution to precipitate and the class period
was not enough, so some groups, like our group, did not do
the filtration properly which also affect the result. If we had
more time, we could filter the solution for two or more times,
so the resulting weight would be accurate as there would be
less leftover substance when we filter.

21
PICTURES

22
REFERENCES
Copper sulfate. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2018, from
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Copp
er_sulfate #section=Top
Cupric sulfate. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2018, from
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Copper
_II__sulfate_pentahydrate#section=Top
COPPER SULFATE PENTAHYDRATE. (n.d.). Retrieved December
07, 2018, from https://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/chemical
/20049
Sodium Hydroxide. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2018, from
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/sodium
_hydroxide#section=Top
Sodium hydroxide. NIST. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2018,
from https://webbook.nist.gov/cgi/cbook.cgiID=C131073
2&Mask=2
Sodium Hydroxide Chemical Information and Properties. (n.d.).
Retrieved December 07, 2018, fromhttps://sodiumhydro
xide.weebly.com/chemical-information-and-properties.html
Britannica, T. E. (2017, June 07). Filtration. Retrieved
December 09, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/
science/filtration-chemistry

23