Dear all,
last september I acquired solid orto-phosphoric acid in a HDPE container. I came to realize that it is mostly liquid now, I suppose molten.. I was wondering:
1 - should I keep it in the same container or change it to a glass one?
2 - as there is now an equilibrium between species (if I understood well), and hydrolysis of some, will it be problematic to use it as it is to prepare a solution for TLC plate revelation, that contains copper sulfate in MeOH and H2SO4 (1 mL in 25 of said MeOH) and H3PO4 (also 1:25)?
Thank you.
The slight hydrolysis, which left the acid in a liquid state, should not affect the use you have in mind, which further dilutes the acid. The HDPE container should be fine for storage.
If your room temperature is below 40 degrees Celsius (the melting point of pure orthophosphoric acid) then your orthophosphoric acid has absorbed water and is, in fact, a concentrated aqueous solution. Orthophosphoric acid is strongly hygroscopic.
Orthophosphoric acid (H3PO4) is not hydrolyzable because it is already fully hydrolyzed.
The HDPE container should be alright for storage.
If there is still solid, anhydrous, orthophosphoric acid remaining in the bottle, you can vacuum filter the liquid away using a coarse sintered glass funnel and transfer the solid into another HDPE container, but make sure the bottle is well sealed or place it in a dessicator containing a good dehydrating agent like phosphorus pentoxide.
The solid should still be good for your TLC. In fact, I'm guessing the liquid will still work, too.
Regards,
Hitoshi.
Thank you very much for both your answers. I wish it had been this easy to find this information in google. Not even the seller was able to provide a clear, straight answer.
I did the TLC solution and it worked as before. I am quite happy with the result!
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