# how to copper oxide



## Wyndham (Jun 16, 2008)

I looked a Harold"s # of post and figured I'd better get after it if I'm going to catch him :lol: Since I had mentioned I'm a potter in another post, on of the pricey item I buy is either copper oxide or carb.
Now in the AP method there's a lot of copper going into solution and not much of the gold is really in solution so after I clean and filter the gold i should have a solution of copper chloride 11 if I remember what I've read today. What will allow me to percipt copper oxide or carb out of this solution . I have materials I use in glazes that are carbs. Some active from lithium carb to calcium carb to magnesium carb. I have iron oxide, aluminum oxide, and others that are more expensive than copper ox.
Now I don't know what the reaction will be but in the electromotive list of elements, higher drops out lower if I remember, this excludes my knowledge of the energy released in the reaction, but I would think the higher on the list the more reactive so say as close to the copper for safety????
This brings me to the question of hydrogen If peroxide(3%) introduced into a test beaker of the pregnant copper solution, would the reaction create copper oxide percipt? Or if I were to use calcium carb would I get copper carb percipt?
Just trying to learn and not blow it. Thanks Wyndham


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## lazersteve (Jun 16, 2008)

Wyndham,

Here's a link to a patent that should help you along:

Copper Carbonate Production

Steve


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## Lou (Jun 16, 2008)

Copper oxide is an easy one, just depends on if you want Cu2O or CuO.

My friend, as you are a potter, I recommend you look through this most wonderful of books of preparative inorganic chemistry. It will tell you how to make anything you could want for a glaze.

It's Brauer's Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry

It's free here, and I recommend it to ALL of you on this forum

http://www.sciencemadness.org/library/index.html


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## Wyndham (Jun 20, 2008)

Lou I was looking in the silver forum and found the silver recovery from nitric acid by copper metal dropping out silver and leaving a solution of copper nitrate. As I asked in that thread, if I were to use sodium hydroxide would this percip out copper oxide? Do you have a thought on this.
Wyndham


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## Lou (Jun 20, 2008)

Yes, you can either use copper (II) nitrate or copper (II) sulfate and add just enough base until the blue leaves the solution. What you then have really is a black mass of copper hydroxide/oxide. This is vacuum filtered and pressed (a trick to get the water out is to use a large nitrile or latex glove and lay it on top of the buchner funnel). Make sure to wash the CuO with water to remove it of any soluble impurities.

Then you simply bust up the cake, place it in a large pyrex dish and put in your oven and give it a couple hours at high heat. Should come out as a fluffy black powder.


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