MadSci Network: Chemistry |
NaOH and NaOCl are good guesses, but both substances are colourless. I'm sure both solids are copper-based, from the colour. The bluish-green solid will be a copper salt; copper chloride or copper hydroxide (CuCl2 or Cu(OH)2). The floating solid is likely to be copper itself, which is pinkish-orange when pure, but rapidly oxidises to a darker brown. I guess it floats because it's a very fine solid and attached to bubbles of either oxygen or chlorine. It depends how strong the salt solution is which gas you get - weak salt gives oxygen and stronger salt solutions give chlorine. Ewen
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