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Gravimetric Analysis: Estimation (weight %)
Principle:
The principle behind gravimetric analysis is that the mass of an ion in
a pure compound can be determined and then used to find the mass
percent of the same ion in a known quantity of an impure
compound.
The ion being analysed is completely precipitated. The precipitate
must be a pure compound.
Gravimetric analysis is based on conversion of
ions/elements/radicals into a stable and pure compound through
precipitation, which can be directly weighed and quantified.
BaCl2 + H2SO4 BaSO4 + 2HCl
Filtered and dried and put in weighing crucible and ignited. SO4 rel
BaSO4 eased as SO2 gas
Ba is left as residue.
Basics:
Weight amount of Analyte solution is taken
It is precipitated using suitable reagent
Precipitate produced is a pure and stable compound.
Wt. of Analyte = [Wt of precipitate x gravimetric factor]/Wt of
sample
% of Analyte = Wt. of analyte x 100
Advantage:
 Analysis is done accurately by using sensitive and moderate
balance.
 Direct measurement of the compound is done so no calibration
is required. It is an absolute method.

Method:
I) Volatilization methods: CO2, H2O
NaHCO3(aq) + H2SO4(aq) → CO2(g) + H2O(l) + NaHSO4(aq).
CO2(g) + 2 NaOH(s) → Na2CO3(s) + H2O(l)
 Volatilization methods can be either direct or indirect. Water
eliminated in a quantitative manner from many inorganic
substances by ignition is an example of a direct determination.
It is collected on a solid desiccant and its mass determined by
the gain in mass of the desiccant.
 Another direct volatilization method involves carbonates which
generally decompose to release carbon dioxide when acids are
used. Because carbon dioxide is easily evolved when heat is
applied, its mass is directly established by the measured
increase in the mass of the absorbent solid used.
 Determination of the amount of water by measuring the loss in
mass of the sample during heating is an example of an indirect
method. (Water of crystallization)
 It is well known that changes in mass occur due to
decomposition of many substances when heat is applied,
regardless of the presence or absence of water. Because one
must make the assumption that water was the only component
lost, this method is less satisfactory than direct methods.
 This often fault and misleading assumption has proven to be
wrong on more than a few occasions. There are many
substances other than water loss that can lead to loss of mass
with the addition of heat, as well as a number of other factors
that may contribute to it. The widened margin of error created

by this all-too-often false assumption is not one to be lightly
disregarded as the consequences could be far-reaching.
 Nevertheless, the indirect method, although less reliable than
direct, is still widely used in commerce. For example, it's used
to measure the moisture content of cereals, where a number of
imprecise and inaccurate instruments are available for this
purpose.
Ca(OH)2 + CO2 = CaCO3 + H2O
II) Steps in a gravimetric analysis:
After appropriate dissolution of the sample the following steps are
followed for successful gravimetric procedure:
1) Preparation of the Solution:
This involves several steps including adjustment of the pH of the
solution in order for the precipitate to occur quantitatively and get a
precipitate of desired properties, removing interferences, adjusting
the volume of the sample to suit the amount of precipitating agent
to be added.
2)Precipitation:
 This requires addition of a precipitating agent solution to the
sample solution. Upon addition of the first drops of the
precipitating agent, supersaturation occurs, then nucleation
starts to occur where every few molecules of precipitate
aggregate together forming a nucleus. At this point, addition of
extra precipitating agent will either form new nuclei or will
build up on existing nuclei to give a precipitate.
Relative supersaturation = (Q – S)/S
 The Q is the concentration of reactants before precipitation, S
is the solubility of precipitate in the medium from which it is

being precipitated. Therefore, to get particle growth instead of
further nucleation we must make the relative supersaturation
ratio as small as possible. The optimum conditions for
precipitation which make the supersaturation low are:
 Precipitation using dilute solutions to decrease Q
 Slow addition of precipitating agent to keep Q as low as
possible
 Stirring the solution during addition of precipitating agent to
avoid concentration sites and keep Q low
 Increase solubility by precipitation from hot solution
 Adjust the pH to increase S, but not too much increase np as
we do not want to lose precipitate by dissolution
 Usually add a little excess of the precipitating agent for
quantitative precipitation and check for completeness of the
precipitation
2)Digestion of the precipitate:
The precipitate is left hot (below boiling) for 30 min to one hour for
the particles to be digested. Digestion involves dissolution of small
particles and reprecipitation on larger ones resulting in particle
growth and better precipitate characteristics. This process is called
Ostwald ripening. An important advantage of digestion is observed
for colloidal precipitates where large amounts of adsorbed ions cover
the huge area of the precipitate. Digestion forces the small colloidal
particles to agglomerate which decreases their surface area and thus
adsorption. You should know that adsorption is a major problem in
gravimetry in case of colloidal precipitate since a precipitate tends to
adsorb its own ions present in excess, Therefore, forming what is
called a primary ion layer which attracts ions from solution forming a
secondary or counter ion layer. Individual particles repel each other
keeping the colloidal properties of the precipitate. Particle
coagulation can be forced by either digestion or addition of a high
concentration of a diverse ions strong electrolytic solution in order to

shield the charges on colloidal particles and force agglomeration.
Usually, coagulated particles return to the colloidal state if washed
with water, a process called peptization.
4) Washing and Filtering the Precipitate:
It is crucial to wash the precipitate thoroughly to remove all
adsorbed species that would add to the weight of the precipitate.
One should be careful to use too much water since part of the
precipitate may be lost. Also, in case of colloidal precipitates we
should not use water as a washing solution since peptization would
occur. In such situations dilute nitric acid, ammonium nitrate, or
dilute acetic acid may be used. Usually, it is a good practice to check
for the presence of precipitating agent in the filtrate of the final
washing solution. The presence of precipitating agent means that
extra washing is required. Filtration should be done in appropriately
sized ignition filter paper.
5) Drying and Ignition:
The purpose of drying (heating at about 120-150 o
C in an oven) or
ignition in a muffle furnace at temperatures ranging from 600-1200
o
C is to get a material with exactly known chemical structure so that
the amount of analyte can be accurately determined.
6) Precipitation from Homogeneous Solution:
To make Q minimum we can, in some situations, generate the
precipitating agent in the precipitation medium rather than adding it.
For example, to precipitate iron as the hydroxide, we dissolve urea in
the sample. Heating of the solution generates hydroxide ions from
the hydrolysis of urea. Hydroxide ions are generated at all points in
solution and thus there are no sites of concentration. We can also
adjust the rate of urea hydrolysis and thus control the hydroxide
generation rate. This type of procedure can be very advantageous in
case of colloidal precipitates.

The identification of the quantity of an unknown solute in a solution
by making it the limiting reagent of precipitation reaction, weighting
the mass of the resulting precipitate and then using the
stoichiometry of the precipitation reaction to determine the moles of
the unknown. This technique takes advantage of the solubility rules,
and the strategy is to use a double displacement reaction where
where one of the products is soluble, while the other forms a
precipitate.
For example
To identify the moles of soluble barium chloride in a solution, you
could add excess sodium sulfate, the complete ionic equation would
be
BaCl2(aq) + Na2SO4(aq) --> BaSO4(s) + 2NaCl(aq)
(limiting) (excess)
By adding excess sodium sulfate, force all the barium form a
precipitate, which can be filtered, dried, and weighed. Once the mass
is known, the moles barium sulfate can be calculated, and from that
the moles (or mass) of the barium chloride can be determined. For
this to work, the unknown must be the limiting reagent.
Gravimetric Analysis of Lead (II) Nitrate
Lead was found in the drinking water at Flint Michigan, and one way
of removing it is through the double displacement reaction with
phosphate, to create lead(II) phosphate, which is an insoluble salt.
Interestingly, this forms a protective coating in the pipe that
prevents further corrosion. In fact, the city of Flint had removed
phosphate from the treatment process, as it also prevents corrosion
of iron, and that is when the lead started to dissolve in the first place,

Dissolved lead can be removed from water, but even it can be used
in the lab to determine the concentration of lead in an unknown
sample.
Analysis of Lead in Water Sample.
What is the molar concentration of Pb+2 in contaminated water if
14.06 grams of Pb3(PO4)2(s) precipitates out of 1.00 liter of a
lead(II)chloride solution
Solution
The unbalanced equation is:
Pb(NO3)2(aq) + Na3PO4(aq) → Pb3(PO4)2(s) + NaNO3(aq)
3Pb+2
(aq)unknown+2PO4
-3
(aq)excess → Pb3(PO4)2(aq)m = 14.06g

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