Thursday, October 11, 2018

inorganic chemistry - Testing for nitrate ions with NaNO3 in Devarda's test


When we use Devarda's test on $\ce{NaNO3}$ solution (we add $\ce{NaOH}$ and $\ce{Al}$ powder, heat the mixture, and produce ammonia), what is the equation of the process?


I understand that $\ce{Al}$ reduces $\ce{NO3-}$ to $\ce{NH4+}$ then $\ce{NH4+}$ and $\ce{OH-}$ have a reversible reaction to produce $\ce{NH3}$, and water, but I'm not sure how to summarize this in an equation. In particular, what happens to the aluminium?




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periodic trends - Comparing radii in lithium, beryllium, magnesium, aluminium and sodium ions

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