IChO 1997 · Theory problem 6

Refining of platinum metals; a main-group chloride and ammonia

6.1 Much of the world’s supply of platinum group metals is derived from the residues recovered from the electrolytic refining of copper and nickel. A flow chart for the recovery of platinum and palladium is shown on the following page.

i) Clearly draw the shape (geometry) of both the \(\ce{PtCl6^2-}\) and the \(\ce{PdCl4^2-}\) anions.

ii) Clearly draw all possible stereoisomeric structures of monomeric \(\ce{Pd(NH3)2Cl2}\). Label the structures that you have drawn with their correct stereochemical descriptors.

iii) What is the role of the \(\ce{FeSO4}\) in the second step of the flow chart? Write a balanced equation for the reaction of \(\ce{FeSO4}\) in this step.

iv) Write a complete balanced equation for the ignition of \(\ce{Pd(NH3)2Cl2}\) in air to give \(\ce{Pd}\) metal. In this reaction, what is being oxidized and what is being reduced?

6.2 Reaction of a main group chloride (24.71 g) with ammonia (10.90 g) gave a mixture of products consisting of \(\ce{NH4Cl}\) (25.68 g), a solid element A (2.57 g) and a yellow crystalline nitride of this element (7.37 g) according to the equation below.

Figure 1

(where n, m, p, q, r, w, x, y and z are coefficients to be determined)

A sample of the nitride exploded violently when struck with a hammer, but it underwent controlled polymerization on heating to give a bronze-coloured, fibrous solid which exhibits metallic conductivity. Element A also undergoes polymerization to a high molecular weight linear polymer upon heating.

Molar masses:

\[ M(\ce{Cl})=35.453\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}} \qquad M(\ce{N})=14.007\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}} \qquad M(\ce{H})=1.008\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}} \]

i) Identify element A.

ii) Write a complete balanced equation for the reaction of the chloride with ammonia.

iii) Assuming conventional oxidation states, write the balanced redox half-reaction equations involved in this reaction.

Figure 2

Method of Purification of Platinum and Palladium

Official English text of the problem.

Answers

  • 6.1(i) \(\ce{[PtCl6]^2-}\) is octahedral; \(\ce{[PdCl4]^2-}\) is square planar.
  • 6.1(ii) There are two stereoisomers: cis-diamminedichloridopalladium(II) and trans-diamminedichloridopalladium(II). Identical ligands occupy adjacent positions in the cis isomer and opposite positions in the trans isomer.
  • 6.1(iii) \(\ce{FeSO4}\) is a reducing agent, precipitating gold: \[ \ce{[AuCl4]^- + 3Fe^2+ -> Au + 4Cl^- + 3Fe^3+}. \]
  • 6.1(iv) \[ \boxed{\ce{Pd(NH3)2Cl2 + O2 ->[\Delta] Pd + N2 + 2HCl + 2H2O}} \] Ammonia-ligand nitrogen is oxidized; palladium(II) and oxygen are reduced.
  • 6.2(i) A is sulfur.
  • 6.2(ii) The chloride is sulfur dichloride, \(\ce{SCl2}\), and the nitride is tetrasulfur tetranitride, \(\ce{S4N4}\): \[ \boxed{\ce{6SCl2 + 16NH3 -> 12NH4Cl + 2S + S4N4}}. \] Thus \[ (n,m,p,q,r)=(6,16,12,2,1),\qquad (w,x,y,z)=(1,2,4,4). \]
  • 6.2(iii) Sulfur disproportionates from \(+2\) to \(+3\) and \(0\). Balanced half-reactions are \[ \ce{4SCl2 + 4NH3 -> S4N4 + 12H+ + 8Cl^- + 4e^-} \] and \[ \ce{2SCl2 + 4e^- -> 2S + 4Cl^-}. \]

Names and SMILES representations are supplied in the corresponding solution parts below.

Solution

6.1(i)

The coordination SMILES below use arrows for bonds donated from ligands to the metal. Their spatial geometries are specified explicitly in words.

Ion Name and SMILES Geometry and precise drawing description
\(\ce{[PtCl6]^2-}\) Hexachloridoplatinate(IV), [Cl-]->[Pt+4](<-[Cl-])(<-[Cl-])(<-[Cl-])(<-[Cl-])<-[Cl-] Octahedral: place platinum at the centre, four chlorido ligands at the corners of an equatorial square, and two axial chlorido ligands directly above and below the centre.
\(\ce{[PdCl4]^2-}\) Tetrachloridopalladate(II), [Cl-]->[Pd+2](<-[Cl-])(<-[Cl-])<-[Cl-] Square planar: place palladium at the centre of a square and the four chlorido ligands at its corners, all in one plane.

The metal oxidation states follow from charge balance:

\[ \begin{aligned} \ce{[PtCl6]^2-}:&\quad x+6(-1)=-2\quad\Rightarrow x=+4,\\ \ce{[PdCl4]^2-}:&\quad x+4(-1)=-2\quad\Rightarrow x=+2. \end{aligned} \]

These are the usual six-coordinate, octahedral geometry of platinum(IV), a \(d^6\) ion, and four-coordinate, square-planar geometry of palladium(II), a \(d^8\) ion.

6.1(ii)

The palladium(II) complex is square planar. With two identical ammine ligands and two identical chlorido ligands, only adjacent and opposite arrangements are distinct.

Stereoisomer SMILES Precise drawing description
cis-Diamminedichloridopalladium(II) [NH3]->[Pd@SP1+2](<-[NH3])(<-[Cl-])<-[Cl-] Put palladium at the centre, ammine ligands north and east, and chlorido ligands south and west. Each identical ligand pair subtends \(90^\circ\).
trans-Diamminedichloridopalladium(II) [NH3]->[Pd@SP2+2](<-[NH3])(<-[Cl-])<-[Cl-] Put palladium at the centre, ammine ligands north and south, and chlorido ligands east and west. Each identical ligand pair subtends \(180^\circ\).

All four donor atoms lie in the same plane. For the atom order written, the extended SMILES descriptors @SP1 and @SP2 distinguish the cis and trans configurations, respectively. Neither isomer is optically active.

6.1(iii)

Iron(II) sulfate, \(\ce{FeSO4}\), SMILES [Fe+2].[O-]S(=O)(=O)[O-], supplies iron(II) ions that reduce dissolved gold(III) to metallic gold. This removes gold from the platinum–palladium solution.

The reacting gold complex is tetrachloridoaurate(III), \(\ce{[AuCl4]^-}\), SMILES [Cl-]->[Au+3](<-[Cl-])(<-[Cl-])<-[Cl-].

Its reduction half-reaction is

\[ \ce{[AuCl4]^- + 3e^- -> Au + 4Cl^-}. \]

Iron(II) is oxidized:

\[ \ce{Fe^2+ -> Fe^3+ + e^-}. \]

Multiplying the second half-reaction by three and adding gives

\[ \boxed{\ce{[AuCl4]^- + 3Fe^2+ -> Au + 4Cl^- + 3Fe^3+}}. \]

Here the iron(II) ion is [Fe+2], the iron(III) ion is [Fe+3], and the chloride ion is [Cl-]. Sulfate is a spectator ion.

6.1(iv)

Complete ignition in air is represented by

\[ \boxed{\ce{Pd(NH3)2Cl2 + O2 ->[\Delta] Pd + N2 + 2HCl + 2H2O}}. \]

The molecular reactant supplied by air is dioxygen, O=O. The molecular products are dinitrogen, N#N; hydrogen chloride, Cl; and water, O.

The oxidation-state changes are:

Atoms involved Change Electron balance per complex
Two ammonia-ligand nitrogen atoms \(-3\rightarrow 0\) Lose \(6e^-\) in total
Palladium \(+2\rightarrow 0\) Gains \(2e^-\)
Two oxygen atoms \(0\rightarrow -2\) Gain \(4e^-\) in total

Thus nitrogen is oxidized, while both palladium and oxygen are reduced. Chlorine remains at \(-1\), and hydrogen remains at \(+1\).

6.2(i)

The qualitative observations identify sulfur. Elemental sulfur commonly consists of cyclooctasulfur, \(\ce{S8}\), SMILES S1SSSSSSS1. Its crown-shaped rings open on heating to form long sulfur chains; the SMILES records the ring connectivity, not its crown conformation.

The yellow, impact-sensitive nitride is tetrasulfur tetranitride, \(\ce{S4N4}\), with a localized cage representation S12=NS3=NS2=NS3=N1. Its actual structure is a nonplanar cage with delocalized sulfur–nitrogen bonding and weak transannular sulfur–sulfur interactions. Its conversion to a conducting sulfur–nitrogen material matches the remaining observation.

The mass data provide a quantitative check. From the supplied molar masses,

\[ \begin{aligned} M(\ce{NH3})&=14.007+3(1.008)=17.031\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}},\\ M(\ce{NH4Cl})&=14.007+4(1.008)+35.453 =53.492\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}. \end{aligned} \]

Hence

\[ n(\ce{NH3})=\frac{10.90}{17.031}=0.6400\ \mathrm{mol}, \]

\[ n(\ce{NH4Cl})=\frac{25.68}{53.492}=0.4801\ \mathrm{mol}. \]

The nitrogen atoms not present in ammonium chloride must be in the nitride. Retaining additional digits during calculation,

\[ n(\text{N atoms in nitride})=0.15994\ \mathrm{mol}. \]

Their mass is

\[ m(\text{N in nitride}) =(0.15994)(14.007)=2.240\ \mathrm{g}. \]

Therefore,

\[ m(\text{A in nitride})=7.37-2.240=5.130\ \mathrm{g}. \]

For the general formula in the question,

\[ \frac{y}{z}M(\ce{A}) =\frac{5.130\ \mathrm{g}}{0.15994\ \mathrm{mol}} =32.07\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}. \]

The 1:1 sulfur-to-nitrogen ratio in the identified nitride gives an inferred sulfur molar mass of approximately \(32.1\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}\), consistent with sulfur.

The numerical composition constrains the empirical formula; identifying the molecular nitride as \(\ce{S4N4}\) also uses its described chemical properties.

6.2(ii)

All chlorine from the starting chloride appears in ammonium chloride. Thus

\[ n(\text{Cl atoms})=0.48007\ \mathrm{mol}, \]

and

\[ m(\text{Cl})=(0.48007)(35.453)=17.020\ \mathrm{g}. \]

The sulfur content of the starting chloride is consequently

\[ m(\text{S in chloride})=24.71-17.020=7.690\ \mathrm{g}. \]

Using the inferred sulfur molar mass,

\[ n(\text{S in chloride}) \simeq\frac{7.690}{32.07} =0.2398\ \mathrm{mol}. \]

Therefore,

\[ \frac{n(\text{Cl atoms})}{n(\text{S atoms})} \simeq\frac{0.4801}{0.2398} =2.002\simeq2. \]

The chloride is sulfur dichloride, \(\ce{SCl2}\), SMILES ClSCl.

The remaining species are ammonia, \(\ce{NH3}\), SMILES N, and ammonium chloride, \(\ce{NH4Cl}\), SMILES [NH4+].[Cl-].

The product amounts are approximately

\[ n(\text{elemental S atoms}) =\frac{2.57}{32.07} =0.0801\ \mathrm{mol}, \]

\[ n(\ce{S4N4}) =\frac{0.15994}{4} =0.03998\ \mathrm{mol}. \]

Dividing all amounts by approximately \(0.0400\ \mathrm{mol}\) gives

\[ \begin{aligned} &n(\ce{SCl2}):n(\ce{NH3}):n(\ce{NH4Cl}): n(\text{elemental S atoms}):n(\ce{S4N4})\\ &\hspace{3em}\simeq 6:16:12:2:1. \end{aligned} \]

Thus the balanced equation in the notation of the question is

\[ \boxed{\ce{6SCl2 + 16NH3 -> 12NH4Cl + 2S + S4N4}}. \]

The symbol \(\ce{S}\) denotes bulk elemental sulfur. Written explicitly in terms of \(\ce{S8}\), the same balance is

\[ \ce{24SCl2 + 64NH3 -> 48NH4Cl + S8 + 4S4N4}. \]

The requested coefficients are

\[ \boxed{ n=6,\ m=16,\ p=12,\ q=2,\ r=1,\quad w=1,\ x=2,\ y=4,\ z=4 }. \]

The supplied reactant masses total \(35.61\ \mathrm{g}\), whereas the product masses total \(35.62\ \mathrm{g}\). This \(0.01\ \mathrm{g}\) difference is consistent with the stated mass precision.

6.2(iii)

In sulfur dichloride, chlorine has oxidation state \(-1\), so sulfur is \(+2\).

In tetrasulfur tetranitride, conventional assignment of nitrogen as \(-3\) gives

\[ 4x+4(-3)=0 \quad\Rightarrow\quad x=+3 \]

for sulfur. Elemental sulfur has oxidation state \(0\).

Consequently, four sulfur atoms are oxidized from \(+2\) to \(+3\), releasing four electrons, and two sulfur atoms are reduced from \(+2\) to \(0\), consuming four electrons. Nitrogen remains at \(-3\).

A balanced oxidation half-reaction is

\[ \boxed{\ce{4SCl2 + 4NH3 -> S4N4 + 12H+ + 8Cl^- + 4e^-}}. \]

The corresponding reduction half-reaction is

\[ \boxed{\ce{2SCl2 + 4e^- -> 2S + 4Cl^-}}. \]

The hydrogen ion, \(\ce{H+}\), has SMILES [H+]. These protons are bookkeeping intermediates: additional ammonia binds them to form the ammonium ion, \(\ce{NH4+}\), SMILES [NH4+]:

\[ \ce{12NH3 + 12H+ -> 12NH4+}. \]

Adding these equations and combining ammonium and chloride ions into ammonium chloride reproduces

\[ \ce{6SCl2 + 16NH3 -> S4N4 + 2S + 12NH4Cl}. \]

The solution was checked against the official solution.