Chemical Forums
Chemistry Forums for Students => Inorganic Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: Mnemonic Entity on June 05, 2022, 09:02:50 PM
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I am planning on making cerium nanoparticles and currently at the resource acquisition phase of the endeavor. I am seeing that there is anhydrous, hydrate, dihydrate, and tetrahydrate salts available. I was thinking that what I should be getting is the anhydrous, in order to maintain a proper stoichiometry with the stabilizer I am using to carry out the oxide formation at a raised pH--however, I'm realizing now that it would be easy to account for the hydrates in the salt and thus not a real problem.
What that leaves me with is a question of what the best one to go with would be--I would assume I should go for the one that is most easily purified, as I am trying to make this a food-grade synthesis and I want to minimize the trace metals in the final product. Are the hydrates more easily purified than the anhydrous? Trying to also conserve funds, which I assume would accord with the most easily purified form of the compound.
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What does "food grade" mean?
If you're doing the synthesis in water, it doesn't matter if your reagents are hydrated or not. As soon as you put it into water, it's hydrated. So, no need to pay extra money for anhydrous.
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"Food grade" as in that, at the end of it, it could be used in an in-vivo animal experiment. I want it to be (relatively) non-toxic.
And yes, I suppose I will just have to account for the weight of the water when doing the stoichiometry.
So hydrates are generally cheaper? Makes sense.
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Usually, because it takes energy to remove water.