Drying Copper Sulfate pentahydrate

[Xenon]

New teach wants 250g anhydrous Copper Sulfate for tomorrow. We've only got the pentahydrate, so I've got 400g in glass petri dishes and a beaker on a hot plate. Making some progress, but could take all day & night. Anyone got any better/faster ideas?

Hey, a century of posts! I'm out of the nervous 90s.

[Rowyrow]

Maybe use a crucible and a bunsen burner? can get it hotter than a hot plate but you will have to keep a constant eye on it

[RosalieM]

Does it really matter?

[Lyn]

To get the copper sulfate white or grey/white it has to be heated to evaporate off the moisture content. If you have some largish crucibles Rowy's suggestion could be the quickest way of achieving a result. Besides the teacher probably only wants the copper sulfate in its whitish state so that the kids can add water to turn it blue again.
Lyn.

[Xenon]

Yeah, he wants to use as indicator for aqueous solutions. Thanx Rowy, I'm rotating 2 crucibles, stirring with glass rod; can only take ~12g a time but is more efficient and has sped up the whole process.
Had to take the beaker off as it formed a crust on the bottom, blue on top, white undemeath) which I ground with a morsel & pettor and finishing off in the crucibles. Just as well I had nothing else to do today (sarcastic overtones).

[smiley]

Gosh guys I'm sorry I logged on late (lots of dramas here today) but I always dry CuSO4 out in the incubator. I just rack it up to max and dry out overnight. Evaporating basins on a hotplate work well too. It allows you to do it in bulk.

[lada]

I always keep CoCL2 papers in desiccator and use it as indicator for moisture.
I soak filter paper in sat CoCL2 soln, dry in oven, cut in small strips and place in desiccator. It turns from blue (dry)to pink when contact with water.
Lada