Ammonium iron(II) sulfate, or Mohr's salt, is the

inorganic compound An inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds⁠that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as ''inorganic chemistry''. Inorgan ...

with the formula . Containing two different

cation An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

s, Fe²⁺ and , it is classified as a double salt of ferrous sulfate and

ammonium sulfate Ammonium sulfate (American English and international scientific usage; ammonium sulphate in British English); (NH4)2SO4, is an inorganic salt with a number of commercial uses. The most common use is as a soil fertilizer. It contains 21% nitrogen a ...

. It is a common laboratory reagent because it is readily crystallized, and crystals resist oxidation by air. Like the other ferrous sulfate salts, ferrous ammonium sulfate dissolves in water to give the aquo complex e(H₂O)₆sup>2+, which has

octahedral molecular geometry In chemistry, octahedral molecular geometry, also called square bipyramidal, describes the shape of compounds with six atoms or groups of atoms or ligands symmetrically arranged around a central atom, defining the vertices of an octahedron. The o ...

. Its mineral form is mohrite.

Structure

This compound is a member of a group of double sulfates called Schönites or Tutton's salts. Tutton's salts form monoclinic crystals and have formula M₂N(SO₄)₂·6H₂O (M = various monocations). With regards to the bonding, crystals consist of octahedra e(H₂O)₆sup>2+ centers, which are hydrogen bonded to sulfate and ammonium. Mohrite-DwH-bonds

Mohr's salt is named after the German chemist

Karl Friedrich Mohr Karl Friedrich Mohr (November 4, 1806 – September 28, 1879) was a German chemist famous for his early statement of the principle of the conservation of energy. Ammonium iron(II) sulfate, (NH4)2Fe(SO4)2.6H2O, is named Mohr's salt after him. Life ...

, who made many important advances in the methodology of titration in the 19th century.

Applications

analytical chemistry Analytical skill, Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to Separation process, separate, identify, and Quantification (science), quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute t ...

, this salt is the preferred source of ferrous ions as the solid has a long shelf life, being resistant to oxidation. This stability extends somewhat to solutions reflecting the effect of pH on the ferrous–ferric redox couple. This oxidation occurs more readily at high pH. The ammonium ions make solutions of Mohr's salt slightly acidic, which slows this oxidation process. Sulfuric acid is commonly added to solutions to reduce oxidation to ferric iron. It is used in Gel dosimetry to measure high doses of gamma rays.

Preparation

Mohr's salt forms upon evaporation of an equimolar mixture of aqueous ferrous sulfate and

Contaminants

Common impurities include

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

, and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

, many of which form isomorphous

salts In chemistry, a salt or ionic compound is a chemical compound consisting of an assembly of positively charged ions ( cations) and negatively charged ions (anions), which results in a compound with no net electric charge (electrically neutral). ...

References

{{Iron compounds Ammonium compounds Iron(II) compounds Sulfates Double salts

Structure

Applications

Preparation

Contaminants

See also

References