Making copper (II) chloride

[moondogman]

Im running low on my campfire color. I have HCI and copper carbonate is it as simple as mixing these filtering and drying?? How hard is it to dry? Will simple boiling work? Or does anyone know of a cheap source for copper (II) chloride?

 

Thanks Steve

[Mumbles]

It's about as simple as you describe. Mix them, filter out any insoluble residue, and evaporate the liquid. I would use a slight excess of copper carbonate. The dihydrate is a blue-green color, and the anhydrous form is brown. The solid will fully dehydrate around 100-120C. I actually put some in the lab oven last night at 140C, and it looks to be perfectly dehydrated without melting. You may need to heat it a little bit to drive off all of the water depending on ambient humidity. It is deliquescent, meaning that it can absorb enough water that it dissolves itself. If you get a solid out

 

Make sure to use glass or plastic equipment. The salt and solution will be caustic toward most metals.

[Verge]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O4qo36TIJs&feature=related