Can dilute sulfuric acid dry ammonia?

Ammonia is a colorless and odorless gas that can be easily breathed into the body in the air. Ammonia has a very high density and can cause great harm to the body. When exposed to ammonia, it can easily cause burns to the skin and respiratory organs. Dilute sulfuric acid is a chemical liquid that cannot dry ammonia and has no effect on drying ammonia.

Can dilute sulfuric acid dry out ammonia?

Dilute sulfuric acid cannot dry ammonia, but it can be dried by alkaline desiccants such as alkaline lime (alkaline lime is a mixture of NaOH and CaO), but acidic desiccants cannot be used because when dilute sulfuric acid is used to dry alkaline gases such as NH3, a neutralization reaction will occur between the two. In short, alkaline gases cannot be dried with acids.

Ammonia Introduction

Ammonia, a colorless gas. Has a strong pungent smell. Density 0.7710. Relative density 0.5971 (air = 1.00). It can be easily liquefied into a colorless liquid. It can be liquefied by applying pressure at room temperature (critical temperature 132.4°C, critical pressure 11.2 MPa, i.e. 112.2 atmospheres). Boiling point -33.5℃. It is also easy to solidify into a snow-like solid. Melting point -77.75℃. Soluble in water, ethanol and ether. At high temperatures, it decomposes into nitrogen and hydrogen, which has a reducing effect. It can be oxidized to nitric oxide in the presence of a catalyst. Used for making liquid nitrogen, ammonia water, nitric acid, ammonium salts and amines, etc. It can be directly synthesized from nitrogen and hydrogen. It can burn the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes of the respiratory organs. Excessive inhalation can cause lung swelling and even death.

Molecular structure

The nitrogen atom has 5 valence electrons, 3 of which are unpaired. When it combines with hydrogen atoms, each nitrogen atom can combine with 3 hydrogen atoms through polar covalent bonds to form an ammonia molecule. The nitrogen atom in the ammonia molecule also has a lone pair of electrons. The spatial structure of the ammonia molecule is trigonal pyramidal, and it is a polar molecule.

Physical properties

Relative molecular weight 17.031

The density of ammonia under standard conditions is 0.771 g/L

Critical point 132.4℃

Vapor pressure 506.62 kPa (4.7°C)

Chemical properties

(1) Reaction with water

The reaction of ammonia in water can be expressed as: NH3+H2O=NH3·H2O

Ammonia monohydrate is unstable and decomposes into ammonia and water when heated.

Three applications of ammonia water in middle school chemistry experiments

① Use a glass rod dipped in concentrated ammonia to test for the presence of gases such as HCl

②In the laboratory, it is used to react with aluminum salt solution to produce aluminum hydroxide

③Prepare silver ammonia solution to test the presence of aldehyde groups in organic molecules.