Chemical properties of complex aluminum ions

Abstract

The objective of this research work was to study the synthesis of metallic salts and to analyze their properties. For this purpose, tests were carried out using basic and acid solutions. These tests allowed to identify that the reaction of aluminum in the presence of sulfuric acid is an exothermic reaction whose first stage is the formation of the tetrahydroxoaluminate (III) ion complex, a process in which a significant amount of heat is released from the system and a large amount of hydrogen gas for the oxidation of aluminum, a second stage in which sulfuric acid was added to neutralize the basicity of the solution transforming the complex into disulfate-aluminate (III), Then a third stage consisted in subjecting the solution in an ice bath to decrease the solubility of the complex and the formation of whitish crystals and finally the removal of excess crystals by washing with ethanol, these tests revealed the importance of excess sulfuric acid in the stabilization of the aluminate ion and the ease of the complex ion to bind to water molecules, thus determining important properties of the reaction as the type, orientation, solubility and the intermediates affected by the metal catalysis.