Colour-changing

The change in colour when one ligand is replaced by another can be used to determine the coordination number thus if the colour change is measured in a colorimeter as the new ligand is added, the intensity of new colour reaches a maximum When the metal/ligand ratio is that in the new complex. 

These are of two general kinds octahedral, pink complexes and tetrahedral, blue complexes. If cobalt(II) chloride is dissolved in aqueous solution, the predominant species is the hexaaquo-ion [ColHjO) ] (pink). If this solution is heated, it becomes blue, and the same effect is observed if chloride ion is added in excess. This colour change is associated with the change... 

Alkali hydroxide gives a white precipitate solubie in excess. The white precipitate, Zn(OH)2, gives the oxide when dehydrated the white yellow reversible colour change observed on heating the oxide is a useful confirmatory test. 

NOTE. It is not expected that a student xvill attempt to memorise all the colour tests given in Part III. He might for example be expected to know the Phthalein Reaction for phenol itself (p. 339). Details of the divergence from the standard result are recorded primarily for reference, so that a student will not be diverted from his line of investigation if he observes that a suspected phenol does not respond exactly to the standard colour changes. 

Although phenol gives these marked colour changes, the test is unsatisfactory with many other phenols, the precise tint obtained varying with the purity of the phenol, amount of reagents used, and temperature and time of heating. 

Ltease test. The enzyme uretwe hydrolyses urea to ammonium carbonate (p. 519). The reaction is sp ific and is frequently used for solu tions of urea to which the biuret test cannot be applied. Add about 5 drops of phenohred to o 2 g. of urea dissolved in 5 ml. of water. To this yellow solution, add 0 2 g. of jack bean meal suspended in 2 ml. of water containing. also 5 drops of phenol-red. The colour changes to red as the solution becomes alkaline. 

Place 10 ml. of 1% starch solution (prepared as described above) in a boiling-tube, add 2 ml. of 1% sodium chloride solution and place the tube in a water-bath maintained at 38-40 . Place about 5 ml. of water in a series of test-tubes and to each add a few drops of 1% iodine solution. Now add 4 ml. of the diluted saliva solution to the starch solution, mix well and note the time. At intervals of about 30 seconds transfer 2 drops of the reacting mixture, by means of a dropping tube, to one of the test-tubes, mix and note the colour. As in the previous experiment, the colour, which is blue at first, changes to blue-violet, red-violet, red-brown, pale brown, and finally disappears at this stage the solution will reduce Fehling s solution. If the reaction proceeds too quickly for the colour changes to be observed, the saliva solution should be diluted. 

With the aid of a small pipette or a fine-bore dropping-tube (Fig. 30, p. 60), add about 4 drops of the filtered enzyme solution to the amine acetate solution. Using another dropping-tube add i drop of 20 volume hydrogen peroxide solution and shake well. Note the colour change which takes place. 

The rate of colour change will depend upon the activity of the enzyme preparation. The changes enumerated below are usually, however, easily observable. 

Repeat one or two of the above experiments using however, in place of the active enzyme, a sample of the enzyme solution which has been thoroughly boiled for 2 minutes. Note that the above colour changes do not now occur. 

The colour change is red (pink) to yellow over the pH range 4-2-6-3. 

A suspension of di1ithiohexyne in diethyl ether was made from 0.20 mol of 1-hexyne and 0.5 mol ethyllithium in 400 ml of diethyl ether in the same way as described for 1-heptyne (see this chapter, Exp. 27). The suspension was cooled to -40°C and at this temperature a solution of 0.20 mol of ethylene oxide in 50 ril of diethyl ether was added in 15 min, the brown colour changing into yellow. Subsequently the temperature was allowed to rise graduallyduring 1 h to +5°C. 

Titrate this against N/lO-HCl solution until the colour changes to pink. 

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