Question
Question: Explain the difference between a double salt and a complex, giving an example in each case....
Explain the difference between a double salt and a complex, giving an example in each case.
Solution
First of salts can be understood as an ionic compound that is formed by the bonding of an anion and a cation via ionic bonding. salt is a neutral compound. When cations and anions interact with each other, they are combined in such a way that the overall charge of the salt becomes zero.
Complete Step-by-Step Answer:
Before we move forward with the solution of the given question, let us first understand some important basic concepts.
These salts can be of different types. The ones we will be discussing now are double salts and complex salts.
DOUBLE SALT | COMPLEX SALT |
---|---|
Double salts are ionic compounds that are formed by the combination of two different salt compounds | Complex salts are ionic compounds that contain a central metal atom which is surrounded by ligands that are linked to it via covalent bonds |
Double salts completely dissociate in aqueous medium | Complex salts do not completely dissociate in aqueous medium |
When double salts are added to water, they give simple ions | When complex salts are added to water, they do not give simple ions |
The analysis of double salts can be easily done by determining the ions that are present in the aqueous solution | The analysis of complex salts cannot be done by determining the ions present in an aqueous solution. |
Example: potassium sodium tartrate, bromlite, Tutton’s salt, etc | Examples: potassium ferrocyanide, argento cyanide, tetra amino cupric sulphate, etc. |
Note: Cations can be understood as the positively charged ion. It attains this positive charge by donating electrons. In other words, a cation is nucleophilic in nature. On the other hand, an anion is a negatively charged ion which obtains its negative charge by accepting lone pairs of electrons. Its behaviour can be explained by its electrophilic character