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Color of chemicals

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The color of chemicals is a physical property of chemicals that in most cases comes from the excitation of electrons due to an absorption of energy performed by the chemical.

The study of chemical structure by means of energy absorption and release is generally referred to as spectroscopy.

Theory

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The UV-vis spectrum for a compound that appears orange in Dimethylformamide

All atoms and molecules are capable of absorbing and releasing energy in the form of photons, accompanied by a change of quantum state. The amount of energy absorbed or released is the difference between the energies of the two quantum states. There are various types of quantum state, including, for example, the rotational and vibrational states of a molecule. However the release of energy visible to the human eye, commonly referred to as visible light, spans the wavelengths approximately 380 nm to 760 nm, depending on the individual, and photons in this range usually accompany a change in atomic or molecular orbital quantum state. The perception of light is governed by three types of color receptors in the eye, which are sensitive to different ranges of wavelength within this band.

The relationship between energy and wavelength is determined by the Planck-Einstein relation

where E is the energy of the quantum (photon), f is the frequency of the light wave, h is the Planck constant, λ is the wavelength and c is the speed of light.

The relationships between the energies of the various quantum states are treated by atomic orbital, molecular orbital, Ligand Field Theory and Crystal Field Theory. If photons of a particular wavelength are absorbed by matter, then when we observe light reflected from or transmitted through that matter, what we see is the complementary color, made up of the other visible wavelengths remaining. For example, beta-carotene has maximum absorption at 454 nm (blue light), consequently what visible light remains appears orange .

Colors by wavelength

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What is seen by the eye is not the color absorbed, but the complementary color from the removal of the absorbed wavelengths. This spectral perspective was first noted in atomic spectroscopy.

Below is a rough table of wavelengths, colors and complementary colors. This utilizes the scientific CMY and RGB color wheels rather than the traditional RYB color wheel.[1]

Wavelength
(nm)
Color Complementary
color
400–424   violet   yellow
424–491   blue   orange
491–570   green   red
570–585   yellow   violet
585–647   orange   blue
647–700   red   green

This can only be used as a very rough guide, for instance if a narrow range of wavelengths within the band 647–700 nm is absorbed, then the blue and green receptors will be fully stimulated, making cyan, and the red receptor will be partially stimulated, diluting the cyan to a greyish hue.

By category

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The vast majority of simple inorganic (e.g. sodium chloride) and organic compounds (e.g. ethanol) are colorless. Transition metal compounds are often colored because of transitions of electrons between d-orbitals of different energy. (see Transition metal#Colored compounds). Organic compounds tend to be colored when there is extensive conjugation, causing the energy gap between the HOMO and LUMO to decrease, bringing the absorption band from the UV to the visible region. Similarly, color is due to the energy absorbed by the compound, when an electron transitions from the HOMO to the LUMO. Lycopene is a classic example of a compound with extensive conjugation (11 conjugated double bonds), giving rise to an intense red color (lycopene is responsible for the color of tomatoes). Charge-transfer complexes tend to have very intense colors for different reasons.

Examples

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Colors of metallic ions
Name Formula Color
Magnesium(II) Mg2+ colorless
Scandium(III) Sc3+   silver
Titanium(III) Ti3+   purple
Titanium(IV) Ti4+   silver
Titanyl TiO2+ colorless
Vanadium(II) V2+   light purple
Vanadium(III) V3+   dark grey-green
Vanadyl(IV) VO2+   blue
Vanadium(IV) (vanadite) V
4
O2−
9
  brown
Vanadium(V) (pervanadyl) VO+
2
  yellow
Metavanadate VO
3
colorless
Orthovanadate VO3−
4
colorless
Chromium(II) Cr2+   bright blue
Chromium(III) Cr3+   blue-green-grey
Chromium(III) hydroxide Cr(OH)63−   yellowish
Monochromate CrO2−
4
  yellow
Dichromate Cr
2
O2−
7
  orange
Manganese(II) Mn2+   pale pink
Manganese(III) Mn3+   crimson
Manganate(V) MnO3−
4
  deep blue
Manganate(VI) MnO2−
4
  dark green
Manganate(VII) (permanganate) MnO
4
  deep purple
Iron(II) Fe2+   greenish
Cobalt(II) fluoride Co2+   pink
Cobalt(III) amine Co(NH
3
)3+
6
  yellow/orange
Nickel(II) Ni2+   light green
Nickel(II) amine complex Ni(NH
3
)2+
6
  lavender/blue
Copper(I) amine complex Cu(NH
3
)+
2
colorless
Copper(II) Cu2+   blue
Copper(II) amine complex Cu(NH
3
)2+
4
  indigo-blue
Copper(II) chloride CuCl2−
4
blue-green
Zinc(II) Zn2+ colorless
Silver(I) Ag+ colorless
Silver(III) in conc. HNO3 Ag3+   dark brown

It is important to note, however, that elemental colors will vary depending on what they are complexed with, often as well as their chemical state. An example with vanadium(III); VCl3 has a distinctive reddish hue, whilst V2O3 appears black.

Salts

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Predicting the color of a compound can be extremely complicated. Some examples include:

  • Cobalt chloride is pink or blue depending on the state of hydration (blue dry, pink with water) so it is used as a moisture indicator in silica gel.
  • Zinc oxide is white, but at higher temperatures becomes yellow, returning to white as it cools.
Colors of various salts
Name Formula of the corresponding salts
Color Picture
Iron(III) chloride hexahydrate FeCl3·6H2O yellow/brown Iron(III) chloride hexahydrate
Iron(III) chloride anhydrate FeCl3 black Iron(III) chloride anhydrate
Chromium (III) sulfate Cr2(SO4)3 dark green Chromium(III) sulfate
Copper(II) sulfate anhydrate CuSO4 white Anhydrous copper(II) sulfate
Copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate CuSO4·5H2O blue Large crystals of copper sulfate
Copper(II) benzoate Cu(C7H5O2)2 blue Powdered copper benzoate
Cobalt(II) chloride CoCl2 dep blue Cobalt(II) chloride
Cobalt(II) chloride hexahydrate CoCl2·6H2O deep magenta Cobalt(II) chloride hexahydrate
Manganese(II) chloride tetrahydrate MnCl2·4H2O pink Manganese(II) chloride tetrahydrate
Copper(II) chloride dihydrate CuCl2·2H2O blue-green copper(II) chloride dihydrate
Nickel(II) chloride hexahydrate NiCl2·6H2O green Nickel(II) chloride hexahydrate
Lead(II) iodide PbI2 yellow Lead(II) iodide
Ammonium dichromate (NH4)2Cr2O7 orange Ammonium dichromate

Ions in flame

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Colors of metal ions in flame[2]
Name Formula Color
Lithium Li   red
Sodium Na   yellow/orange
Magnesium Mg   brilliant white
Potassium K   lilac/violet
Calcium Ca   brick red
Rubidium Rb   red-violet
Strontium Sr   red
Caesium Cs   light blue
Barium Ba   green/yellow
Copper Cu   Blue/Green(Often with white flashes)
Lead Pb   Grey/White

Gases

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Colors of various gases
Name Formula Color
Hydrogen H2 colorless
Oxygen O2   pale blue
Ozone O3   pale blue
Fluorine F2   pale yellow
Chlorine Cl2   greenish yellow
Bromine Br2   red/brown
Iodine I2   dark purple
Chlorine dioxide ClO2   intense yellow
Dichlorine monoxide Cl2O   brown/yellow
Nitrogen dioxide NO2   dark brown
Trifluoronitrosomethane CF3NO   deep blue
Diazomethane CH2N2   yellow

Bead tests

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A variety of colors, often similar to the colors found in a flame test, are produced in a bead test, which is a qualitative test for determining metals. A platinum loop is moistened and dipped in a fine powder of the substance in question and borax. The loop with the adhered powders is then heated in a flame until it fuses and the color of the resulting bead observed.

Colors exhibited by metals in the bead test
Metal[3] Oxidizing flame Reducing flame
Aluminum colorless (hot and cold), opaque colorless, opaque
Antimony colorless, yellow or brown (hot) gray and opaque
Barium colorless
Bismuth colorless, yellow or brownish (hot) gray and opaque
Cadmium colorless gray and opaque
Calcium colorless
Cerium red (hot) colorless (hot and cold)
Chromium dark yellow (hot), green (cold) green (hot and cold)
Cobalt blue (hot and cold) blue (hot and cold)
Copper green (hot), blue (cold) red, opaque (cold), colorless (hot)
Gold golden (hot), silver (cold) red (hot and cold)
Iron yellow or brownish red (hot and cold) green (hot and cold)
Lead colorless, yellow or brownish (hot) gray and opaque
Magnesium colorless
Manganese violet (hot and cold) colorless (hot and cold)
Molybdenum colorless yellow or brown (hot)
Nickel brown, red (cold) gray and opaque (cold)
Silicon colorless (hot and cold), opaque colorless, opaque
Silver colorless gray and opaque
Strontium colorless
Tin colorless (hot and cold), opaque colorless, opaque
Titanium colorless yellow (hot), violet (cold)
Tungsten colorless brown
Uranium yellow or brownish (hot) green
Vanadium colorless green

References

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  1. ^ "SAP Fiori | SAP Community".
  2. ^ Flame Tests at chemguide.co.uk
  3. ^ CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. CRC Press. 1985. ISBN 0-8493-0466-0.