April 15, 2015

1. Precautions taken in KMnO4 preparation

The KMnO4 is dissolved in distilled water and boiled for an hour. Boiling was
done to hasten the reaction between MnO 4 and the organic impurities found
in the distilled water. Ideally, after boiling, filtration of the resulting mixture
through a clean, sintered-glass filter to remove precipitated MnO 2 is done.
The usage of filter paper is not recommended, because this can contribute
organic matter to the solution. The solution is kept in a dark glass bottle to
prevent decomposition due to light.
2. Significance of blank titration
Blank titration is a titration done without the analyte itself. The difference
between the end point and the equivalence point is a titration error. In order
to correct this, the result of the blank titration is subtracted.
3. Titration with self-indicator and its advantages
Through the used concentration of the oxidizing agent added, the
concentration of the reducing agent present in the unknown sample can be
found. This titration also uses less amount of reagent and also reduces the
chances of contamination.
4. Importance of boiling KMnO4 if it is stored for future use
Boiling was done to hasten the reaction between MnO 4 and the organic
impurities found in the distilled water. Also, boiling ensures that all of the
permanganate has been dissolved, so not much would be lost upon filtration
of the precipitated MnO2. Finally, the solution would have a longer shelf-life.
5. Purpose of heating the oxalate mixture to 70-80 oC before titrating with KMnO4
Heating was performed at a temperature above 60 oC in order to increase the
rate of reaction, so that the color change would be easier to detect.
Otherwise, the reaction would be slow and it might result to over titration.
6. Rationale behind using H2SO4 to acidify the analyte mixture instead of HCl
Hydrochloric acid will react with permanganate to form chlorine, which would
give us a false high result, unlike H 2SO4 which does not react with
permanganate.
2MnO4- + 10Cl- + 16H+ = 2Mn2+ + 5C12 + 8H2O.
7. Possible sources of error and their effect on calculated parameters
Over titration and/or misreading of the volume within the buret may be a
source of error. If the volume is more than the actual, the calculated
percentage of Na2C2O4 would increase.
References:

Chemistry.tutorvista.com,. 'Redox Titration, Redox Reaction, Back Titration |

Chemistry@Tutorvista.Com'. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
Harris, Daniel C. Quantitative Chemical Analysis. 8th ed. New York: W.H. Freeman,
2010. Print.
Page 1 DETERMINATION OF PERCENT OXALATE IN AN IRON OXALATO COMPLEX
SALT. 1st ed. Hope College, 2002. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
Vogel, Arthur Israel, G. H Jeffery, and Arthur Israel Vogel. Vogel's Textbook Of
Quantitative Chemical Analysis. 4th ed. Harlow, Essex, England: Longman Scientific
& Technical, 1978. Print.