Separation and Identification of a Series of CationsPrelabIntroduction:The process of Identifying and separating cations is very important in the world ofscience. 1 Different means have been taken to identify these cations and separate them from the mixture. This is common in determination of inorganic chemicals such as in liquid wastes2. Some specific areas have used this to cure liquid wastes like in acid mine drainage like in a coal mine. Water pollution from these mines is very hazardous and the separation of these cations is necessary.3 Because of this, the cations are separated in many ways like by neutralization and precipitation of heavy metals. Also the detection can be used to prepare solutions. One of these solutions that can be prepared by this method is Nickel hexacyanoferrate4. In this lab we will be performing many different reactions to qualitatively identifychemical properties of the ions in each reaction. Then the goal will be to develop a scheme for separating and identifying these ions we have determined5. Some of the following are example reactions of the ones that will take place in the lab: Pb2+(aq) + 2Cl-(aq)  PbCl2(s) (Standard Test)Ag+ + CO32+:  Ag2O (Behavior in Carbonate Solution)Al + 3OH- Al(OH)3 (Ammonia test)These are just three of the 110 combinations that will take place. Some of these will combinations will cause no reaction, but many will precipitate. We will have to determine the properties of these cations by many different tests. There are Amphoteric where the reactions have both basic and acidic properties. There are tests that show behavior in ammonia in aqueous solutions. This behavior shows that it is a weak base. There are tests that show the behavior with a sulfide ion. Many metals form precipitates with this ion. There are tests to show the behavior of carbonate and phosphate solutions. They both act as weak bases. There tests that include standard ion tests which will be performed in a well plate. There will also be ammonia tests. These will be done with none of the other tests in the wells. There will be sulfide tests performed which will be performed under a fume hood because of the smell. There will be acidic sulfide tests which is done in the fume hood also and in a clean well plate. Lastly there will be confirmatory tests to show the ion precipitates and complex ions. 2Materials and Methods: Refer to the lab manual for the details of these steps. The first step in this procedure is to find a well plate that will be used to perform the reactions in. Table 1 has a list of all of the reactions to be performed in this lab. There will be 110 mixtures: some will react and some will not. All qualitative observations should be recorded in the lab book. Be sure to note if a precipitate formed, what color the precipitate is, and if it forms gases. When mixing the solutions add about three drops of each cation into the correct well plate. Then add one to two drops of the anion solution then stir. Do only one row at atime. If a precipitate forms add 2-3 drops of 6 M nitric acid to see if the color changes, the precipitate dissolves, or the color changes. Before the ammonia or sulfide tests are performed, the well plate must be cleaned out. Confirmation tests should be performed to ensure the right reactions have occurred. Be sure to dump the solutions into the correct waste dump. Wash the well plate thoroughly between each test that needs to be washed (i.e. the sulfide and ammonia tests) With the ammonia tests perform them under a hood because harmful vapor can be a result of the test. For the basic ammonia test, they should be performed in the same way as the other tests but washed out in the basic sulfide waste carboy. The acidic sulfide test should be done in the same way as the previous one but putin the acidic waste carboy. Do not dump down the drain. Also many hazardous chemicals are being used in this lab, so the performer of this lab should be cautious when they are carrying out this lab. Table 1: Table of Reactions to be Performed in the LabPb+Ba+Bi=Fe+Mn2+Ag+Cu2+Ni2+Zn2=Al3=3 M HCl3M H2SO40.1 M Na2PO40.1 M Na2CO30.1 M K2CrO43 M NaOH19 M NaOH3 M NH3(aq) or NH4OH15 M NH3 or NH4OH3OH-/H2SH+/H2SThis is Table 6-1 in An Introduction to Chemical Systems on page 525References:(1) Milman, B.M.; Alfassi, Z.B.; Detection and Identification of Cations and Anions of Ionic Liquids by Means of Electrospray Ionization mass Spectrometry and Tandem Mass Spectrometry. 2005.11.1(2) Ni,, M.-J.; Cen, K-F.; Determination of Inorganic Cations in High Concentration Organic Liquid Wastes by Ion Chromatography. Jiliang Xuebao/Acta Metrologica Sinica. 2007. 28.2(3) Buzzi, D.C.; Viegas, L.S.; Silvas.; F.P.C. Espinosa, D.C.R.; Schneider. I.A.H.; Bernardes, A.M.; Tenório, J.A.S.; Ma, J.-Y.; Hong, X.P.; Ma, Z.-Y., Yan, J.-H.; Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage by electrodialysis. 2011.1.(4) Lee. J.H.; Hwang, Y.G.; Preparation of nickel hexacyanoferrate ion exchanger for electrochemical separation of cations. Applied Chemistry for engineering. 2010.21.1(5) An Introduction to Chemical Systems in the Laboratory. Hayden-McNeil. University of Illinois Department of Chemistry. 2013.Questions to consider:1. The person who performs this lab should learn the properties of the ions given. Also he or she should learn the fundamental behaviors of the cations and their precipitates. Lastly the person who performs this lab should learn the fundamentaltypes of reactions2. With this knowledge the lab performer should be able to develop a scheme to separate unknown cations in an unknown cation test. 3. It is good to form only one only one precipitate when analyzing the unknowns because if a person forms more than one precipitate it could be hard to distinguishbetween which ions precipitated with which solutions. There could be a great amount of confusion and unclear results leading to many errors4. If ammonia tests are performed with other cations in the tray, some of the ammonia vapors could waft over to the other cations and react with them45. Amphoteric species are known to be capable of acting as both acids and bases. Anexample of this is Al2O3 Al2O3 + 6HCl  2AlCl3 + 3H2O (Acidic)Al2O3 + 2NaOH + 3H2O  2Na[Al(OH)4]