The diffusion of ammonia and hydrogen chloride – technician notes
Education in Chemistry
July 2021
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Ammonia meets hydrogen chloride in this classic diffusion demo
Kit
4 cm3 concentrated hydrochloric acid (corrosive)
4 cm3 concentrated 880 ammonia solution (corrosive (skin/eyes), irritating (respiratory), very toxic to
aquatic life)
2 sample vials
2 100 cm3 beakers
2 cotton buds
Cotton wool
2 elastic bands
Glass tube for gases to diffuse in, with bungs to fit each end (ideally approx 1 m long)
Clamp and stand
Large beaker of water for disposal
Black paper
Gloves (CLEAPSS members should consult GL349)
Splash-proof goggles
Preparation
Secure a glass tube horizontally in a clamp where the demonstration will take place. Check the bungs fit in the
ends of the tube. Placing a piece of black paper behind the tube will improve the visibility of the white product.
Bore a small hole in each bung to snugly fit the stem of a cotton bud. Trim the bud to a length such that when
inserted into the narrow end of the bung and placed in the sample vial, the tip of the bud touches the base of
the vial. Once the stem of the bud has been secured in the bung, wrap extra wool around the end of bud and
hold this in place with an elastic band.
Wear splash-proof goggles and work in a running fume cupboard. Place the vials into 100 cm 3 beakers to
catch drips and reduce the risk of tipping. Add 4 cm 3 of concentrated hydrochloric acid to one sample vial and
4 cm3 of concentrated ammonia to the other. When ready for the demonstration, take them to the bench and
leave them at least one metre away from each other either end of the clamped tube.
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In front of the class
Wearing gloves, dip the buds into their corresponding vials to absorb the liquids. Work with a colleague if
possible to insert the two buds into the ends of the tube at the same time and place the beakers under the
ends of the glass tube to catch any drips. After a couple of minutes, a white ring of ammonium chloride will
form where the two gases meet. This will be closer to the source of the hydrogen chloride than to the source
of the ammonia.
Safety and disposal
Avoid skin contact with the chemicals – wear gloves and splash-proof goggles.
Always use chemicals from a new or recently opened bottle. Open bottles of concentrated ammonia
with caution in a working fume cupboard as pressure can build up, especially on warm days.
Once the demonstration is complete, both buds and bungs can be placed in a waiting large beaker of
water to dilute the remaining acid and base before washing down the sink with plenty of water.
Teaching goal
This demonstration is an excellent display of diffusion in action – especially when coupled with some of Bob
Worley’s famous ‘puddle experiments’. The fact that the hydrogen chloride clearly travels a shorter distance
than the ammonia is worth pointing out to students to illustrate the relationship between mass and kinetic
energy of the relevant molecules. You can stretch the model still further to illustrate how Graham’s law is
fraught with issues because the gases are not diffusing into each other directly, but rather through air.
Given the temperatures of the gases are the same, a common approach might be to suggest that their
average kinetic energy and time taken for them to travel to the point of reaction must be the same. As such,
the kinetic energy expression (KE = ½mv2) for the two gases reduces to the following, where d is the distance
√
dN H 36.5
travelled by each gas: 3
= ≈1.47
d HCl 17
However, this method neglects the fact that the assumptions behind Graham’s law cannot apply. The different
sizes of the molecules and their collision cross sections with other molecules come into play. In other words,
the rate of diffusion depends not only on the molecules of HCl and NH 3, but also on the properties of the
(mainly) nitrogen and oxygen molecules into which they are diffusing. As such, the observed ratio may be
slightly less than that predicted in the simplistic model above – the demo is perhaps best kept as a qualitative
one at this level.
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