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Unanswered Questions

462 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
10 votes
0 answers
109 views

Which potentials are suitable for molecular dynamics simulation of simple explicit solvents?

Which potentials (force fields) are suitable for adequately simulating (mixtures of) explicit solvents? Interesting rheological properties include viscosity, surface tension, heat capacity.
9 votes
0 answers
622 views

Cobalt Chloride in various solvent/water mixtures - tested

In a recent post the solvatochromic behaviour of cobalt chloride in acetone was discussed. There were some ideas how the acetone might influence the ratio between the blue $\ce{[CoCl4]^2-}$ and the ...
6 votes
0 answers
209 views

Are all humectants sticky?

While using a topical lotion based on ethanol, water and propylene glycol, I noticed that it becomes sticky while drying. Propylene glycol is a humectant and is used for this purpose in ...
6 votes
0 answers
164 views

Why is supersaturated sodium acetate so (meta)stable?

Sodium acetate is a common example used in general chemistry lectures to illustrate the idea of supersaturation, and that precipitation of a supersaturated solution can be initiated by a seed crystal. ...
6 votes
0 answers
775 views

How can copper(II) sulfate crystallize outside a glass vial?

I'm making copper sulfate crystals in glasses. Within a few weeks, the copper sulfate seems to crystallize both inside and outside the glass: (A few weeks after making a new solution) (Yet another ...
6 votes
0 answers
154 views

Dissolving ability of octane vs nonane on neoprene

I have been working with straight chain octane and nonane. The neoprene seals in some parts of the apparatus are allegedly far more vulnerable to the deleterious effects of octane than nonane - why? [...
6 votes
0 answers
1k views

How to dissolve a strong resin in difficult situation?

The resin is made up from two components: Component A: silicic acid, sodium salt (less than 10% sodium silicate) Component B: Diphenylmethane-4,4'-Diisocyanate, isomers and homologs (MDI,Polymer-MDI)...
5 votes
0 answers
98 views

What is the pKa of the O-17 hydronium ion?

At low concentrations of a conjugate acid/base pair in aqueous solutions, the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation gives a good approximation of the ratio of acid and base: $$ \frac{[\ce{A-}]}{[\ce{AH}]} = ...
5 votes
0 answers
187 views

What pH value of 1M sodium crotonate solution supposed to be?

I need to prepare the $\pu{1M}$ solution of sodium crotonate, however, I don't have one in lab, but I do have sodium hydroxide and crotonic acid. Thus, I calculated that for $\pu{100 mL}$ of $\pu{1M}$ ...
5 votes
0 answers
793 views

Solubility of PbSO4

The solubility of $\ce{PbSO4(s)}$ increase with the addition of $\ce{H2SO4}.$ Why? I don't quite understand this. When dissolving $\ce{PbSO4(s)}$ we get the equilibrium equation: $$\ce{PbSO4(s) <=...
5 votes
0 answers
479 views

Why does pKw first decrease but eventually increase when temperature rises?

I understand the initial decrease in pKw. $\ce{Heat + H2O (l) <=> H+ (aq) + OH- (aq)}$ Temperature increases, reaction shifts to the right, so $\ce{H+} \text{ and } \ce{OH}$ ...
5 votes
0 answers
159 views

Where is my antimony going?

I work in a trace metals laboratory operating an ICP-OES. I've been having some trouble with the recovery of antimony in a weak $\ce{HCl}$ solution post-digestion. The antimony is part of a mix of ...
5 votes
0 answers
239 views

Slow acidification process

I'm trying to find a substitute of Glucono delta-lactone (GDL). This food additive is usually used to produce silk tofu. Because of its slow hydrolysis the pH decreases very smoothly, which results in ...
4 votes
0 answers
52 views

Speed of unmixing between polar and nonpolar solvent

I have put water and silicone oil (viscosity 100 cSt) together into a jar. Then I colored the water blue to make identifying the interfaces easier. When I shake it heavily, a kind of silicone+water &...
4 votes
1 answer
234 views

How does a silver chloride electrode (Ag/AgCl) convert the potential in aqueous solution to the wire?

I am aware of the redox chemistry that happens at the electrode surface, but I'm not sure how exactly a change in electrical potential in the solution would change the potential in the electrode?

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